No Need
by MinkyHinky
Summary: I didn't ask for any of this. I never asked to be put in a stupid team. I never wanted to be paired up with a bunch of idiots. Yet here I am. Sigh.
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

* * *

_"You're too slow!" I laughed as I ran around the green forest. "If you can't even catch me, how'll you be able to catch up to him?"_

_My friend growled, "We've been at it for hours!" He complained, "When I asked if you wanted to play, I never meant going out and training!" The boy slumped down against a tree with a 'hmph', "Is this really your idea of 'fun'?"_

_I stuck my tongue out at him, "That's how we do it at my house." I decided to take a break with him as well, seeing as though there wasn't anything I can do that can convince him to get up and keep on going. He grabbed a bottle of water and tossed me one as well. We drank in silence until he decided to speak._

_"What do you want to be when you grow up?"_

_I pondered for a second, "I don't know. I might want to join ANBU, but you never know. I could end up being a medic-nin in the end. What about you?"_

_He took a sip from his bottle and said, "I want to be part of the Police Force, but if you're joining ANBU, I might want to be one too."  
_

_And that was that. We sat there on the grass, summer breeze blowing past us. Then, he came up with another question._

_"Who do you think you're going to marry?" He said, unfazed as usual._

_I on the other hand was a bit taken aback by it. I said that I didn't know, but he seemed very confused by it. "I thought that you would say Shikamaru."_

_"Why would I say that?"_

_"You always have more time to spend with him than with me," He said with a small pout._

_"Really?" I asked, "I never noticed."_

_"Well, you do." He took another drink of water._

_I smirked, "Well, what about you? Who do you think you'll marry, hm?"_

_I think he almost choked on his drink. "I d-don't know either." He turned away, but I could see his ears turning a bit red._

_At this, I giggled, and giggles turned into full blown laughter. "My goodness! I never knew you could blush!" I'm pretty sure by this time he turned as red as those tomatoes he's always eating. "I bet you want me to marry you, huh?"_

_"Tch, you wish!" He said, obviously lying._

_I grinned, "Well, if you want we can make a promise. If you can make me fall in love with you, then we'll get married. Once we're old enough of course." I stuck out my hand for him to shake, "If you don't, then I won't marry you."_

_"What if I fall in love with you first?"_

_"Hm, well, then it has to be mutual. If we don't love each other, we won't get married. Sound like a deal?"_

_He took it into consideration for a few moments. Then he grabbed my hand and shook it, a sign of our promise. "So, promise?"_

_"Promise."_

* * *

**Hi there! So, this is my first fanfic so please don't run up to my door with pitchforks and torches. I know it's not the best but I'll edit it or rewrite if I ever have the need to :) This is fic is probably going to go all the way to Shippuden because I have no motivation to make a whole new one :/ oh whale.**

**Thanks for reading! :3**


	2. Chapter 1: Luck

Chapter 1

* * *

I woke up with a grumble as I picked myself up from my bed and slammed my hand onto my alarm clock. Slowly, I opened one eye to see if I had smashed it again. Good, I don't have to get a new one this time. My feet dragged me to the bathroom and I got myself ready for the day. Brushed my teeth, took a shower, you know, simple stuff. Then I got dressed and put on my new Konoha headband. I silently smiled to myself, _'That's right. I'm a shinobi now. Just like big brother!' _I ran down the stairs when I thought I heard the faint sound of a sizzling pan. Maybe for once, Takeshi was making breakfast for both of us. Quickly rushing, I ran into the kitchen to see he really was making food.

"Hey there, Ren," Takeshi said. "Took you long enough to wake up."

I walked up to him and playfully punched his arm, "You're one to talk. It's not like I'm constantly late for everything." I peered behind his arm and checked to see what he was making. It looked like mackerel which is probably the best food in the world. "I see you're making _someone's _favorite type of fish there," I said, not-so-subtly hinting at what might possibly be the first breakfast he has ever made.

He chuckled in amusement, "Maybe." My brother put the pan down on the table and proceeded to get us both a bowl of rice. "It's your first day as a shinobi, so I thought that I should do something special."

I grinned, "Don't even get me started. I'm really excited to be put in our groups. Who knows, I might be put in the same team as Shikamaru!" I ate happily at the thought of working together with my best friend in the world. Shikamaru and I go way back, maybe around when we were four years old. We're as close as friends could be.

"Well, there's also the possibility of you being paired up with Sasuke," He said casually.

There was dead silence. **He mentioned that name in front of me. **Takeshi looked at me for a second before realizing what he had just done. His eyes widened, but it was too late.

"I WOULDN'T BE GROUPED UP WITH HIM! MY GOD, I BET HE WISHES HE COULD BE ON THE SAME TEAM AS ME. HE'S NOWHERE NEAR MY LEVEL. HE. CAN'T. EVEN. TOUCH. ME."

I saw him sweatdrop out of the corner of my eye, "Yes, well, let's not forget that you two are tied for best rookie this year, remember?"

I harrumphed back on my chair, "Yeah, yeah. Details, details," I took my final bite of breakfast, "I'm not letting him ruin my special day. Not now, not ever." I quickly got up and walked towards the front door and waved goodbye to Takeshi.

"Why are you leaving so early?"

"I need to get Shika. I bet that slouch is still in bed."

* * *

As I made my way around town, I noticed that the weather today was basically perfect. It was hot, but still had that cool breeze coming in. The sun was up, clouds were moving around slowly around the sky, and it was all very quiet. Well, as quiet as it can be in a crowded village like Konoha early in the morning. I kept on going to my pineapple friend's home until I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going next time."

"Sorry I-" Wait, I know that voice anywhere.

"What was that?"

I growled, "Nothing you need to hear."

"Excuse me?" He angrily asked.

"You heard me, _d__uck-butt._"

"Hn. I shouldn't be wasting my time with you, _slack off_." He walked away with his hands in his pockets. Oh my God, I swear he acts like he owns the whole goddamn world. I'm just about ready to give him a blow to the face, that is until he disappeared in the forming hustle and bustle of the street. Ugh, coward. Typical of dicks like him.

* * *

I continued my journey with no other disturbances. Then I finally made it to Shikamaru's place.

I knocked on the door and surprisingly, it was Shikamaru himself who answered it, "Ren? What brings you here?" He was already dressed up in his usual outfit, only difference is is headband that he tied around his arm. _'Creative.' _I thought. I was one of those creativity-deficient people and just put it around my forehead like everybody else.

"I came here to pick you up. It's orientation today, but I thought you would still be in bed, given your ways."

He scoffed, "As if. I was just about to get you. Knowing who you are, you'd probably still be trying to figure out what day of the week it is."

"I'm not that dumb!" I argued.

He waved me off, "Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever, let's just get going. You're already here so we might as well go now." Pineapple Head went back inside to bid his parents farewell and then resumed to join me on our walk to the Academy.

As usual, he looked up at the sky and made off-hand comments about how he would rather be in the park than in some stupid ceremony, but I know he really doesn't mean it. We've been working hard (well, I've been working hard. He just mostly lays about and just uses his smarts to get around) to get to where we are. He wouldn't miss this for the world. He's finally being able to follow in his father's footsteps and I'm allowed to finally pursue my dreams and become who I want to be. Sounds cheesy, but that's just how it is. While Shikamaru went and just stared at the sky, we entertained ourselves with useless banter about the weather and who our future teammates might possibly be.

He said that he's okay with anybody, as long as their not annoying like Ino or Sakura. I couldn't agree more. Ino and Sakura are by far the _worst_ of Sasuke's fangirls. It's sickening to have such potentially great kunoichi go to waste. I on the other hand could care less about boys, especially at this age. I'd much rather focus on not getting killed on the field than trying to figure out which greeting Sasuke would like best.

I personally would be okay with anyone as well. Just as long as it isn't any of those annoyingly hyper active kids like Naruto. I'd probably get a headache from spending two minutes with him.

We finally made it and went to our respective seats next to each other. The morning went on and nothing much happened. Sakura and Ino are still obnoxious. Naruto is still an idiot (How he got here to orientation, I'll never know) and Sasuke is still a depressing log. Oh, Naruto and Sasuke kissed by the way. That's something I never EVER want to see again. I'm going to need to wash my eyes out when I get home.

* * *

At last, Iruka-sensei came into the room and started to give a speech about how the teams were made up. I mostly tuned it out, not really caring much about it. He finally started announcing the teams after what felt like an hour.

"Team 1, Rei Atsuko, Tetsuya Yoshi..."

I sort of tuned him out for the first part too. Oops. I didn't really start paying attention until he started saying names that I knew.

"Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki,"

_'Oh no,'_

"Sakura Haruno,"

_'Please don't,'_

"and Sasuke Uchiha."

_'Yes! The three most annoying people in class are all in the same squad! Who could believe my luck?' _I secretly did my victory dance inside my head, but it was promptly put to an end when I heard this.

"Although, due to the uneven number of students graduating, Team 7 will receive an additional member,"

_'Wait, what?'_

"That additional member is..."

_'Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me...'_

"Ren Nanase."

Cue my death.

* * *

**Hey guys! The chapter came a little bit early, but I just couldn't help myself! Ok so, I've realized that I won't be able to update regularly (crying) but I know that it's not going to take forever. I already have a few of the chapters pre-written and hopefully I can try and make a schedule for them :D I'm also open to constructive criticism so don't be afraid to speak your mind on the review section or you can PM me about some improvements I can make :) Btw if you ever review I'll PM you a reply and if it's a guest review then I'll just respond at the author's note.**

**Guest: Hi and thank you for reading! I'm not really sure what pairing I want, but I'll be sure to let everybody know once I figure everything out :)**

**Shoutouts to:**

**December 25th  
Linh02  
Duchess K  
Serenity10116  
Dark Void Princess 21  
CatalepsyCross  
Guest  
YellowMittens **

**You guys are swag *gives virtual cookie***

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2: Ew

Chapter 2: Ew

* * *

"What?!" I accidentally yelled out. Oops, that was supposed to be in my head. No turning back now that everybody's eyes were now pointed at me. I could see Shikamaru face palming beside me, obviously annoyed by my dumb mistake. "Iruka-sensei, why do _I _have to be in Team 7? Why can't it be Ino or Hinata?" At this, I could feel Sasuke's glare intensify at the mention of even more weirdos stuck with him. I gave him my 'I-don't-really-like-this-either-jerk' face.

"Well, You and Sasuke both had the top scores this year, but you were lacking in your book smarts by just a little. Naruto had the worst while Sakura got higher marks on her written exams than you did. Therefore creating a balance within your squad."

I then turned my gaze on the pink haired kunoichi in front of me, _'Is he really saying that THING is smarter than me?' _I thought. This might be the biggest insult I've ever received, even if it was unintentional. I sat back down in my seat and just laid my head on the desk, ready for someone to just kill me before I have the chance to work with these losers.

"If that's all, I'll continue,"

"Team 8, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame." I saw the three nod in acknowledgment. At least they weren't half as bothersome as the three I was with. "Next is Team 9.."

"How did you get on his squad?!" I heard Ino whine on my right. Ugh, great. I'm going to have to be a witness of a 'I'm so much better than you!' whining match. _'Why couldn't I have enrolled a year earlier?'_

"I don't get it. What could you possibly see in a guy like Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked. At least someone understands my pain. "He's not so special."

"Thank the heavens someone has a brain," I droned, still dying inside.

Ino then turned to the both of us and started talking about how great her Sasuke was. I'm so ready to kill _someone _right now. "You two are so beyond clueless," She said, "How does someone like you, Ren, even get to be in his squad as well huh? You don't even deserve that spot!" The blonde then pointed her finger at Shikamaru, "And you! Jealousy is a terrible thing you know. I'd hate to be in your squad."

I rolled my eyes, "I bet the feeling is mutual."

"Now, Team 10. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara,"

**Oh now he's done it.** Who makes up these squads? First it's me, now it's poor Shikamaru. I could just see the smug look on Shikamaru's face. "Ha! Didn't you say something about hating to be on my squad?" Right as always.

I think she was growling, but it was soon cut off with the announcement of their third member, "And Choji Akimichi." With the best death glare I could possibly conjure up, I sent it straight on to Shika's face.

"At least you get to be with one of your friends." I went back to sulking in my seat.

"Iruka-sensei! I still don't understand why a great ninja like me has to be with a slug like Sasuke and a slacker like Ren!"

I'm sorry...what? Excuse me? How am I a slacker? Sure I might be lazy from time to time, but I still got good grades in everything! "Hey, Shorty, I'm not that lazy."

Naruto turned around to face me, "What did you just call me?"

I sighed, "Let me repeat myself, Dirt for Brains, _I called you Shorty_."

"Why I ought to-!" He was cut off by Iruka-sensei, who seemed awfully annoyed by our bantering.

"Alright. Naruto, like I said, you had the worst scores while Ren and Sasuke had the best. To create a balance we paired the worst student with the best student."

"Just don't get in my way, losers." Sasuke said from his depression pose. Did that little duck head just call me a loser?

"Look who's talking, Duck butt."

"What did you say?!" Naruto complained to the Uchiha. Did this kid have hearing problems or something? Seriously.

"Naruto, Ren, knock it off!" Sakura said, defending her darling Sasuke.

Iruka continued his speech while I just stared at my teammates in shame. They're all _idiots_. "You'll all meet your Jonin instructors after lunch. Until then, class dismissed!"

* * *

After lunch, Shikamaru asked if I wanted to go and eat lunch with him and his squad. Unfortunately, I had to decline seeing as though if he was using this time to spend with his new teammates, I wanted to go and sulk alone rather than bother him. He didn't see much to it as always and just left me to my own devices. I found a nice quiet spot up in a tree and ate my lunch there, watching people pass by.

When that got boring, I got up and moved to another spot, this time up on the roof. I didn't have anything to do so I just decided to lay on my back and just enjoy the day. As I relaxed, I tried to think of some good outcomes from today's events in class. Well, let's just say that after a good fifteen minutes, I didn't have anything. There seriously was nothing good about Team 7. Nothing at all. The others had either a clean start, all members not knowing each other, or already had previous experience working with one another. Shika and Choji have been friends for a really long time and although Shikamaru doesn't want to admit it, he's talked to Ino before, seeing as though their parents are good friends. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino all have never talked to each other before, well, Hinata barely talks at all. They have the chance to determine whether or not they can work well together or not.

Where as I, sad little Ren, was stuck with people I _know _I already hate. Naruto was an obnoxious, loud, and stupid boy. Sakura was a fangirl who would probably just go on and on about how fabulous Sasuke's hair looks, and Sasuke was a giant prick. He's nothing but a dumbass, arrogant piece of shit who doesn't respect anybody. I don't understand how someone like me was landed in a group like this. I never did anything wrong. I was always a nice student, never getting into too much trouble and never got bad grades as well. So why? What did I do to deserve this pain?

I checked the time and realized that it was almost time for our new sensei to show up. I got up and walked back to the classroom. Honestly, if I get a really bad Jonin too, I just might kill someone before the day ends.

* * *

I waited in the classroom along with everybody else for our sensei. Slowly, each squad seemed to disappear past the door, and before I knew it, our team was the only one left. Naruto was babbling on about how unacceptable this whole situation is, Sakura was nagging on Naruto to stop talking, Sasuke was still a dick, and I couldn't help but feel bad for them. What a sad existence it must be to just do the same thing for hours on end. As one hour turned into two then three, I decided to take a nap. Well, it's not like he's going to show up anytime soon is he?

Sasuke merely grunted in annoyance, I think I even heard a 'lazy bum' in there. Such a nice guy. Sakura couldn't care less and Naruto probably didn't hear me. Whatever.

After what felt like only a minute of some shut eye, I could hear someone opening the door. So, I lifted my head up from the table, trying my best not to look so groggy, and turned to see who was coming in. Apparently, Naruto had also planned a prank while I was off in dreamland. There was a chalkboard eraser on top of the door, waiting to just land on our sensei's head. Did he really think an experienced ninja would fall for that lame trick? He really was an idiot.

The person walked in and I saw the eraser plop on his head. Are you kidding me? What kind of jonin is this? Naruto then proceeded to laugh his ass off on how our new sensei was stupid (Oh the irony) and Sakura tried to apologize for his inappropriate behavior. Suck up much? The man, who I would describe with really messy silver hair and a mask basically covering his whole face, picked up the eraser from the floor and took a moment to look at us.

"Hm, how should I put this? My first impression on all of you...You're all idiots."

Lovely.

* * *

**Hey guys! Omfg so I just started watching Free! and I swear Rei and Haru ughhhh. Anyways, thanks for reading!**

**FireStar1: Thank you :)**

**Shoutouts to:**

**FireStar1  
Daenerys Dunhams**


	4. Chapter 3: Unnecessary Introductions

Chapter 3: Unnecessary Introductions

* * *

Great. Another person I dislike. Totally need more of those. I sighed as we were brought up to the roof to introduce ourselves. I decided to sit as far away from my teammates as possible. No way I'm going within arms reach of those idiots. Our sensei stood at the railing near the front of the Academy.

"Alright, so why don't you introduce yourselves. One at a time," He droned. His tone of voice felt like he wanted to be here just as much as I did.

"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura asked, "What are we supposed to say?" Hm. I don't know. Try a name smart one.

The Jonin shifted a bit in his position, "Things you like, things you hate. Dreams for the future, hobbies. That sort of stuff." Doesn't seem that hard in my opinion. Of course, before he could continue, Naruto cut him off.

"Why don't you tell us stuff first? I mean, you talk before we start talking so we know what to do." Blondie has a point there.

"Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake," He started, "Things I like and things I hate, well I don't feel like telling you that." Wait what? "My dreams for the future...Haven't really thought about it," He mumbled. "As for my hobbies, well I have tons of hobbies."

Oh great. All we got from you is your name, Kakashi. I rolled my eyes and sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time today. I can't wait to hear what Shikamaru's sensei is like. Probably better than ours anyways.

"Ok, let's start with you," Kakashi gestured towards Naruto, "on the right. You go first." This should be good. It would be nice to know what the village idiot is really like.

"Believe it! I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup and I _really _like the ramen Iruka-sensei gets me at the Ichiraku noodle shop! What I don't like is the fact that you have to wait three minutes you have to wait after you pour the hot water into the ramen cup. My future dream is to to be the greatest Hokage! Then everybody will have to stop disrespecting me and start treating like I'm someone! Someone important!" Okay, so he thinks he'll be the greatest ramen loving Hokage. I think I'd rather have explosive diarrhea everyday than follow that dunce's orders. "My hobbies...pranks I guess."

That was a complete waste of time. "Alright, next," Our sensei said.

Sakura had decided to go next. Hopefully hers isn't as dumb as Naruto's "My name is Sakura Haruno! What I like, well, uh," She had started to become red in the face, "the person I like is-"

"Sasuke Uchiha." I interjected.

Sakura seemed to ignore this and went on. "My hobby is-"

"Daydreaming about a little 'you-know-what' with Sasuke."

She seemed to notice and showed the slightest bit of discomfort, "My dream for the future is-"

"To do said 'you-know-what' with Sasuke." I was having way too much fun with this. Sakura finally realizes that I'm still here and turns angrily to me.

"I-I would never-!"

"Yeah, yeah sure." I noticed that my black haired teammate was probably trying to kill me slowly with his stare. It probably could if they could kill, but fortunately they didn't. If they did, I would have been gone a long time ago.

"And what do you hate?" Kakashi asked before this could get bothersome.

"Naruto and Ren!"

I snorted, "Do I look like I care? Honestly." I really didn't. Obviously Naruto did, with the way he looked you could say he was about to cry.

Kakashi-sensei sighed, "Ok, what about you. The one who's so keen to make her teammates hate her. You're next"

"My name is Ren Nanase. I like books, shogi, and mackerel. I don't like annoying people like Naruto and Sakura," This earned me a glare from both, "and hate Sasuke even more." Said person seemed to glare daggers at me while the Jonin sighed again. "My dreams. I guess I want to join ANBU, just like my brother. For my hobbies, well, I like watching the clouds, with or without my friend Shikamaru, training, or reading. As you can see, I'm not as interesting as the others." I proceeded to look at the view beside me. Better than meeting everybody's death glare.

"Last one."

I could see Sasuke tense up a bit and Sakura started watching with a blush on her cheeks. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha," He started, "I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything." _'Except tomatoes.' _I thought. Sakura seemed shocked that he didn't like anything, much less anyone. What did you expect? He's nothing but a dickhead. "What I have is not a dream, but an ambition that I will make a reality. What I want is to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone." He ended, leaving everybody stunned. Of course he would say that. I don't blame him, but there are other ways.

"Good. You all are each unique and have your own ideals," Kakashi-sensei said, "We'll start our first mission tomorrow." Great! I'm just so done with all the training they gave us in the Academy. I'm ready to kick some ass!

"What kind of mission are we going to have?" Naruto asked, obviously excited.

"It's a task that the five of us will do together," He replied. I think we've got that, Kakashi-sensei.

The blonde started becoming way too jittery for my tastes, "What is it?!"

"Survival training."

...What? Survival training?! Are you kidding me? "Haven't we gotten enough of that already?" I complained to Kakashi. "I thought we were done with that sort of stuff when we graduated and became genin!" I noticed the obvious discomfort my teammates had at his statement. Even Sasuke looked more annoyed than usual.

"This is no ordinary survival exercise," Kakashi retorted. Like that's supposed to help me feel better.

Naruto looked especially confused, "Then uh, what kind of training is it then?"

At this, our sensei had started to chuckle. It was actually kind of disturbing. "That's a normal question," Sakura stated, "There's nothing funny about it."

He just kept on laughing about it. What's wrong with this guy? "Well, if I tell you what it is, you're going to chicken out." The silver haired man kept chuckling like it's supposed to be the most hilarious joke he's ever heard.

"Huh? Just tell us already!" Naruto just couldn't keep his trap shut, could he?

At this, Kakashi's tone changed. It became dark, nothing like the lazy one we heard earlier, "Out of the 28 graduates only 10 of you will be able to be accepted as genin. The other 18 will be weeded out and put back into the Academy," He said. His voice never shook as he said this horrifying news, "So, basically, this is a make-it-or-break-it pass-fail test, and the chances of you failing are at least 66%."

Really.

"See? Didn't I tell you you wouldn't like it?"

I glared at him, "Yeah thanks for the warning," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"That's crazy!" Naruto exclaimed, "We worked hard to get here! Believe it! What was that graduation test for anyways?!" For once, I'm going to have to agree with the idiot. Why would we even take the exam if they know more than half of us are going to fail and come back anyways?

"Oh that? That was just to select candidates who might become Genin," He said like it was the most normal thing ever, "or not."

"What?!" Naruto asked for the fifth time today.

"That's how it is. I decided whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at 5 am, and bring your ninja gear."

Alright. I'll just go home to shrivel up and die now.

* * *

**I have to have a premium membership on crunchyroll to watch the Naruto episodes for reference ;_; crying 5ever. **

**December 25th: Thank you for the review!**

**Shoutouts to:**

**The Starer  
Sleiwid  
Acnologia Inga  
SamTheShortyMan  
Daenerys Dunham  
Mirla-chan**

**Next chapter, I'm FINALLY GETTING TO THE FUCKING BELL TEST THANK THE LORD.**


	5. Chapter 4: No Breakfast, No Happiness

Chapter 4: No Breakfast, No Happiness

* * *

I slowly brought my dead body to the training grounds. It was way too early for this. Who in their right mind would wake up at 5 AM just for a little survival training? It turns out I was a little early, so I put my bag on the soft grass and tried to go to sleep. That didn't last long, unfortunately. A certain Uchiha decided to wake me up instead.

"Tch, you should get up, lazy bum," The little ass said, "Kakashi will be here any minute now." I sent him my deadliest death glare, only to be countered with one of his own.

I scoffed, "Not like it matters. That dumb ass will probably be late like yesterday." Me, not being a morning person, went back to my peaceful slumber, only to be woken up yet again by Naruto's horrible voice.

"Morning everybody..." I could hear him say. The nerve of him! Can he not see me clearly on the ground?! How much more oblivious can you get? I ended up sending him a weird growling noise, basically telling him to shut the hell up before I kick his sorry ass. Then of course, the annoying fangirl decides to show up too. I didn't ask to wake up to their voices this morning.

Before she could utter a word from her stupid mouth, I said something before her. "If I hear a peep from you mouth, Pinky, it'll be the last one you'll ever say." I heard her squeak in fear a little bit before scurrying off to stand beside Sasuke. Naruto seemed to take a hint and fortunately didn't say a word, and of course Sasuke never talks anyways. Only communicates through stares and grunts, like an animal. I didn't need to worry about him. I dragged my body on over to the nearest tree, set my bag down, and drifted off into darkness.

* * *

I was woken up yet again with someone shaking my shoulder. I could feel the sunlight hitting me, so it it was probably late in the morning already. I didn't want to move from my position, so I stayed there, not moving at all. It wasn't until I heard my shoulder shaker's voice then I came up with the best plan I could possibly think of.

"Ren, get up." He said, impatience in his voice.

I grumbled, "Sasuke..." His hand tensed up on my shoulder, "P-put...some clothes...on." He instantly took his hand away, probably thinking I was some demented body who got possessed in my sleep. "It's too cold to do _that_." I swear, I could go at this all day long.

"W-what?!" I could hear him growl. I opened one eye to show him that I was in fact not possessed, only trying to mess with him.

My eyes took a good look on his face, his eyes basically popping out, cheeks red as hell. It was actually pretty funny! I suddenly burst out laughing, "You should see your face, Uchiha!" I probably laughed for fifty years, considering that by the time I was done, his flushed cheeks were gone and he was now staring at me with the intent to kill. Well, I had a nice life.

"If you two are done giving each other goo-goo eyes over there, I think we should get started." I saw Kakashi comment. This brought us to both send him pointed looks. He sweat dropped, just like he should.

Sasuke didn't even bother helping me up, instead just waltzing on over there without giving me a second thought. Well, he never was known for his manners. I picked myself up from under my tree and went to where Naruto was trying to hide his snickers and Sakura was looking exceptionally annoyed at me. I rolled my eyes at her. Not like she can do much to me other than stare.

"Alright. Now that Ren's awake, let's get started." The silver haired jonin walked towards a timer set upon a stump. This test is timed then? "This is set to noon," He proceeded to take out three bells from his pocket and show them to us, "The assignment is this, you just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it." Kakashi took a second to ring the bells, "If you can't get them by noon, you don't get lunch." My blond teammate let out a 'Whaa?!' and I can relate to that on a personal level. I don't think I can go much longer without any food, much less until noon. "You'll be tied to those posts and you'll have to watch me eat my lunch."

_'No wonder he told us not to eat breakfast!' _I mentally scolded myself for actually listening to the jerkass and not eat my mackerel this morning. My partners seemed to think the same thing, all of them looking as hungry as I was. Though, Sakura quickly recovered and asked something that I didn't notice before.

"Wait a minute! There's four of us, but only three bells." She had a point there. We all looked at him for an response.

His one eye closed in delight, "Well that way, at least one of you will be tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the Academy, but then again, all four of you could flunk out as well. You can use all weapons, including shuriken. If you aren't prepared to kill me, then none of you will get a bell."

"Those weapons are too dangerous, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed.

I mumbled, "That's why we were trained to use them, Pinky."

Naruto let out a laugh, "Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser!"

"Class clowns are usually known to be the weakest links. You can safely ignore them. Lowest scores, losers," Kakashi said.

If Naruto didn't looked pumped he certainly looked that way now. "When I say start, you can begin." I got ready to move. If I was going to get one of those bells, I'm going to have to hide, maybe a sneak attack could work...

Before I knew it, Naruto went rushing towards him, kunai in hand. What was that idiot doing? Did he want to die? It looked like he was about to stab him, but Kakashi disappeared in a blink of an eye, only to be seen a second later behind Naruto with the blonde's own kunai dangerously close to his neck, "Don't be in such a hurry. I haven't said start yet."

Was this really how fast he can be? It didn't even look like he broke a sweat! "But, you came at me with the intent to destroy me. How should I say this...I think I'm starting to like you guys."

I smirked, ready to escape his sight.

"Start."

* * *

This was more boring than I thought. I was hiding up in a tree for over twenty minutes now, staring at the back of his head. I haven't been able to find a clear opening, so I was stuck stalking him like a hawk.

"A ninja must know how to hide from his enemy effectively." I heard him say. Then, out of absolute nowhere, Naruto shows up right in the middle of his sight. I face palmed. You know, he really wasn't doing well in gaining my respect. I doubt he's gained anyone else's.

"YOU AND ME! RIGHT NOW, FAIR AND SQUARE! LET'S GO!" The knucklehead taunted his sensei. There really was no helping this boy. I sat tight, ready to dodge anything should a weapon be thrown my way.

"You know, compared to the others," Kakashi started, "you're a little weird." No joke about that.

"Oh yeah! The only weird thing here is your haircut!" Naruto countered. Again, he went running towards Kakashi, the latter looking as disinterested as ever. Kakashi brought his hand to his pouch. He was bringing something out, most likely a kunai or shuriken. Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. At least the idiot knew something.

"Shinobi battle skills part one, Taijutsu."

But, Taijutsu was hand-to-hand combat. Why was he taking out a weapon? I looked closely, and it turns out, the Jonin merely sent out a book. A pornographic book at that. Don't ask how I know. I REALLY don't want to get into how I found out.

"What are you waiting for? Make your move," Kakashi told Naruto.

"Why are you reading that book though?!" Naruto questioned. Hell, I wanted to know too.

Kakashi snickered a bit, "Well, to find out what happens in the story of course. Not like it matters. With your weak attacks, there won't be a difference whether or not I'm reading or anything."

Now, if I were Naruto, my ego would be terribly wounded, but seeing as though the idiot had an unlimited amount of it, he continued his journey to try and defeat the evil Kakashi. Fist raised, he charged at him, yelling, "I'm going to crush you!" An unlikely threat, but a threat either way.

The older man simply raised his hand a blocked his punch, not taking his eyes, well eye, from the book. Naruto followed up with a kick, but he dodged that as well by just squatting down. The blonde was about to try and punch him again, but Kakashi immediately appeared behind him.

"Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time," He said. He also had a hand sign. If Kakashi was going to use a jutsu, a fire one at that, then Naruto was sure to be burnt to a crisp!

"Naruto get out of there!" I heard Sakura yell. So much for hiding.

"Too late," Kakashi commented. He then started to move, "Leaf Village Secret Hidden Jutsu! A Thousand Years of Death!"

I know that 'A Thousand Years of Death' sounds really intimidating right? But alas, it's not as scary as you think. Kakashi brought his fingers all the way up Naruto's ass. That's right _his asshole_. This sent Naruto flying up in the air. Is this really a Hidden Jutsu? I'm pretty sure if it were that effective and hidden, that at least one famous shinobi were to be told to have used it. I would've thought that Kakashi would be cooler than that.

Naruto landed right in the middle of the river. Well, it was nice knowing him. I moved my hand, thinking this was the right time to strike, only something stopped me. Shuriken came flying out of the water, all aimed at Kakashi. Of course, he easily stopped them with only his fingers. There goes my plan. I set my hand down, trying to think of something new to hit him with. The only thing I knew that he couldn't have possibly faced before was...no. I wasn't ready to use that yet.

Naruto climbed out of the river soaking wet.

"What are you doing now," Kakashi said, "You won't get lunch if you don't get a bell by noon." My stomach gave a small grumble at the mention of food. I have to remind myself to have some mackerel or fish when I get home today. Takeshi is on a mission, so I need to make it myself. Ugh, I really need something to eat.

"I know, I know! You've told us this already!" Naruto complained.

"You look a little wobbly for someone who is going to surpass the Hokage."

Naruto growled, "You told us not to eat breakfast! How can I fight when I'm starving to death?!" I'm pretty sure by now my stomach made a growl strong enough to cause an earthquake in the Sand Village.

"All you did was catch me off guard! Believe it!" Naruto started to pep talk himself, looking as determined as ever. I have to admit, kid's got motivation. Suddenly, multiple Narutos jumped out of the water. Seven Narutos, to be exact. I could hardly believe it myself to be honest. Just a few days ago he was unable to even properly create one clone without it looking deader than dead.

All seven Narutos charged at Kakashi, him only taking mild interest. Kakashi merely stared at the clones. If I were him, I would be running the hell out of there. Who in the world would want to be attacked by not only one, but seven Narutos?

"I've told you already, you can't beat me with these," Kakashi said. Then, a Naruto came up from behind and grabbed him, taking Kakashi by surprise.

"Didn't you say not to let your enemies get behind you?" The Naruto said, "Good advice sensei, believe it!" All of his clones now latched onto the Jonin, making sure that he won't even move an inch. I smirked. Not bad for a knucklehead like Naruto. One of them flew into the air and was just about ready to punch Kakashi, but he instead punched...himself? What?

Well, there goes that small respect. I sighed and left my hiding spot. Kakashi probably used the substitution jutsu to prevent getting hit in the face. Might as well look for him if he's out wandering the training grounds. As I was walking away, I could hear a faint yell that sounded like Naruto. Looks like he got caught or something.

I looked around, but all I saw was Sasuke hiding up in his tree. I grinned to myself. Might as well have a little fun with this. Before I could approach him though, he took out some shuriken and threw them, most likely at Kakashi. I was shocked. The duck butt just revealed his hiding spot!

I went over to a nearby bush to see if it actually hit our sensei. Apparently it did, but alas, Kakashi used another substitution jutsu. "Shit." I could hear Sasuke mutter. He quickly dashed off, probably to try and hide again before Kakashi could find him. I followed suit, not wanting to be found by Kakashi as well.

I didn't even stop when I heard an ear piercing scream, probably from Sakura.

* * *

On my fabulous adventure following Sasuke around, I came across Sakura's poor body on the ground. I checked her pulse, making sure didn't die of a heart attack or another. It's still there, and she couldn't be unconscious. So, Pinky was most likely trapped in a Genjutsu, judging by the way her face was scrunched up. Almost as if she was having a nightmare. I let out an exasperated breath. If Sakura got caught here, then Kakashi-sensei must be close by. I wandered around, completely abandoning my 'Follow Sasuke' mission.

I looked around, and I saw a bell on the ground. No way I'm falling for that trick! "I may look dumb, Kakashi-sensei, but I'm not Naruto! There's no way in hell I'm falling into a lame trap like that!" I called out. If he was around, I might as well face him now and get it over with. He jumped down after a few minutes, book in hand.

"Well, I was slightly interested, Ren." Kakashi said, "Just wanted to check out if you really are as smart as they say you are."

I put a hand to the back of my neck, "Never knew people said things about me."

"They say things about your intelligence, but never anything about your actual physical ability," He said. Okay, that hurt a little, " I understand you've been trained by your brother?"

I sighed, "Him being the head of the clan and me being next in line, yeah. He's required to. Can't have the heir dying on him."

If he smirked or not under that goddamn mask, I wouldn't know. All I heard was a 'hn' and he put his book back in his pouch. "I might have to take this a bit more seriously than I did with the other two. Something tells me that you'll be a little more challenging."

"Well, can we move somewhere else?" I requested. He raised an eyebrow, "I don't want Sakura's body interfering." He merely nodded and we moved to a field no too far. I tightened my gloves, "Now, you ready or what?"

I charged at him, kunai in hand. He easily dodged, like I suspected. Kakashi then moved to punch me. Right when his hand was about to collide with my cheek, I was replaced with a nearby log I found. I appeared in front of him, but he landed on the ground with ease. Dropping down, I swept him of his feet. I made a clone and made it hold him down.

I smirked, "Hm, never was a fan of long battles." I crouched down to grab a bell, touching it with my fingertips, but all good things gave to come to an end. He disappeared. I looked around, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Damn it! How could have let him escape? Suddenly, something grabbed my foot and I was ultimately dragged into the ground, only my head appearing above ground level.

"Neither am I, Ren," The jerk took his book out again and started from where he left off, "I expected you to have activated your kekkei genkai by now, but it seems that I was wrong. Takeshi would be awfully disappointed if he came back from his mission with you back in the Academy."

I growled between clenched teeth, "I'm getting you back for this, Kakashi-sensei!"

He waved me off, "That is if you get a bell." He sat down next to a tree and continued reading his book, only to be interrupted by a certain black haired boy. He looked up and said, "So, you're next." Kakashi put his book away yet again, "I sure hope that you aren't as easy to defeat than Ren over there."

The nerve of him! I swear, if I weren't stuck here, I would be strangling that puny little head of his! Sasuke looked over to me, only to meet my deep frown. He simply smirked, thinking that I was as weak as the others.

"Shinobi battle skill number two, Genjutsu," Kakashi stated, "Sakura had studied it in class, but she still couldn't see it coming."

Sasuke seemed in deep thought, but responded. "I'm not like Sakura, Naruto, or Ren."

Oh okay. I see.

"Say that after you get one of these bells, _my Sasuke_." Kakashi taunted.

Sasuke turned around to face Kakashi and started the battle off with a stare down. This probably lasted for a few minutes before Sasuke threw some shuriken at Kakashi.

"There's no point in using normal attacks," Kakashi said.

In fact, Sasuke wasn't planning on hitting Kakashi, instead he set up a trap, most likely during my battle with him. He triggered it so that a bunch of other kunai and weapons would be aimed at the Jonin. Kakashi avoided them, but Sasuke appeared right behind him, ready to kick him in the face. The silver haired man blocked it and grabbed him by the leg, but was almost met by a follow up punch from Sasuke. He blocked it with his other hand, but Sasuke tried kicking him again with his other leg, only to be blocked by Kakashi's arm. I saw what he was trying to do though. He was trying to divert Kakashi's attention to Sasuke in front of him instead of focusing on the bells on his leg. Both of Kakashi's hands were occupied with Sasuke's legs and hand, so he wasn't ready to defend the bells if he needed to.

Kakashi noticed and instantly moved back and Sasuke repeated the same action, landing right beside my head.

"I admit, you're different from the others."

I scoffed, "Still here, Kakashi-sensei!" He didn't seem to notice. What a shame.

Sasuke didn't seem the least bit happy about this praise, probably wanting to take it a step further. He did the 'Horse' and 'Tiger' hand signs, hand signs I knew were for the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu. Kakashi was shocked to see that some lowly Genin was able to perform a jutsu like this. Sasuke aimed and fired, but when the smoke cleared, Kakashi wasn't there.

I moved my head around, trying to locate him, but I felt a strange vibration under my feet. Soon enough, Sasuke's head was poking out alongside mine.

"I'm where you two least expect me," He said with a smile, "Earth Style: Head Hunter Jutsu. Nice trick huh? That was Shinobi battle skill three, Ninjutsu. You two have talent, and you two are different from the Naruto and Sakura, but different isn't always better." He stood up and started walking away from us. "They say that the nail that sticks out is the one that gets hammered down." Kakashi went back to reading that dumbass book again.

"Great! Now I'm stuck here with you too!" Sasuke said.

I sent him a look, "Not like I want to be here too, Duck butt."

"Tch, Slacker."

"Deadbeat."

"Lazy bum."

"Asshole."

"Quitter."

Our name exchange was interrupted by Sakura coming out of the woods. She stopped dead in her tracks though, seeing as me Sasuke were but mere heads poking out of the ground. I bet the idiot thought we were decapitated or something.

"Sakura?" Sasuke said.

Cue Sakura's yelling fit. "SASUKE'S JUST A HEAD WITHOUT A BODY AND HE'S TALKING!" She then fainted. How wonderful.

"Should I be offended that she didn't even mention me at all?" I asked Sasuke whilst sweatdropping at her actions. How much weaker can you get?

"I think it's better that she doesn't have you in her sights," He replied mirroring my actions.

I sighed, "I think we should wake her up. Time's almost over anyways. No use in just leaving her here." Sasuke got out after a moment or two. After another minute or so of me begging him to help me out as well, we were now waking Sakura up. She was still alive, I could tell from her breathing.

She fluttered her eyes and screeched in delight, "Sasuke! You're okay!" Sakura started trying to glomp him in her hug with me trying hard not to laugh in the background.

"I think I'll just leave you two love birds to yourselves!" I called out to Sasuke. Earning me a look of desperation from him.

"Hey!" He yelled at me, "You can't just leave after I helped you out, Ren! You owe me!"

I halted. He's right. I turned around sending him an annoyed look. "This is why I don't ask you for help anymore." I tried to pry Sakura off of the Uchiha. "Come on Pinky, give the boy a second to breathe. He just got out of a hole."

Sakura turned to glare at me before getting off him. Sasuke dusted himself off and stood up, "I have to get a bell before noon. There isn't enough time." He started walking away, me unfortunately trailing behind him.

"I'll come with as repayment. I still need mine as well anyways."

Sakura called after us, well more Sasuke, "You're still trying to go after those bells?"

I decided to respond to her question, "A while ago we both touched one, but Kakashi managed to escape. If we try again by working together, we're guaranteed to get one."

With an awful fake smile, she tried to praise us, but she was obviously angry. "It's almost lunch! There's not nearly enough time left, so maybe we should just give up and try again next year."

I was ready to counter that, but Sasuke beat me to it. He sent her a stare that lasted only for a second, but it was terrifying enough for it to feel like it lasted forever. "I'm...the only one that could defeat that person."

Sakura being dreadfully clueless asked, "What? Who? You mean sensei?"

"That day, I was crying," He responded.

"When we're you crying?" She asked.

I sent her a look to tell her to shut up, "I think you should drop the subject, Sakura."

"But who? What happened to you Sasuke?" Man, she was persistent.

"Sakura, just _drop it_." I was really not in the mood for this conversation.

"I am an avenger. That means that I must be stronger than my prey! I need this training and there isn't time for set backs."

I heard the bell ring, signalling the end of the test.

* * *

We all met back at the three posts, starving and ready to eat, only to be met with Naruto tied up to one of them. Figures.

"Stomachs growling hm? That's too bad," Kakashi said, "Oh, by the way, about this exercise, I've decided that I'm not sending any of you back to the Academy."

My ears perked up at this. Really? "Are you serious?" Well, I wasn't going to turn down a free chance at becoming a ninja. Naruto and Sakura started celebrating, but it was very short lived.

"Yes, all three of you...should just quit being shinobi."

Excuse me while I go die in a hole. What does he mean by quit? I mean, sure I can understand telling Sakura and Naruto that, but me and Sasuke? As much as I don't want to admit it, Sasuke and I were top in our class. We were way beyond Sakura and Naruto's level. We could totally deal with becoming shinobi, so why?

"What do you mean quit being shinobi?! Sure we couldn't get the bells, but that doesn't mean we have to quit!"

"Naruto has a point, sensei." I said calmly. Kakashi's an elite shinobi, so surely he must have a good enough reason to keep us from becoming ninjas.

"Because you're all just brats who don't deserve to be ninjas."

Sasuke got really stirred up about this and assaulted Kakashi, much to his failure though. He ended up lying under Kakashi's foot. "You think it's all about you, don't you?"

"Let go of Sasuke! You can't just step on him like a bug!" Sakura yelled. Is that really all she cares about?

He looked at her, "You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You all think it's just some game huh? Why do you think we put you in squads? Did you consider that question for one moment?"

I looked at my teammates for answers, but they all looked as embarrassed as me.

"I-I don't know what you mean." Sakura said.

Kakashi sighed, "I mean you've never realized what this exercise is all about! Not even close."

"What it's about?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes. That determines whether you pass or fail." Kakashi said.

"I wanted to ask you that from the beginning," Sakura commented. Tch, what a kiss up.

"Use your head. Four people on a squad. Why do you think we would do that?"

Naruto growled in frustration, "How are we supposed to know why you pick four people! We don't make the rules!"

"It's so basic. TEAMWORK."

This idea hit me like a bus. "All you wanted was us to work together?" I asked.

"That's exactly what I wanted. It's too late now, but if all four of you came at me, you might have been able to take them from me. Well, anyways, it's over."

"There's still three bells though," I said, "That means that at least one of us would have to go without a bell. Fighting and arguments would break out leading to separation."

"That's the whole point. I pitted you all against each other. I wanted to see if you can overcome that and put the squad ahead of yourselves. A Genin should have an obviously feel for teamwork, but it never even crossed any of your minds."

He turned to look back at Sakura, "Sakura, you obsessed over Sasuke who was gone. While Naruto was right in front of you and you didn't even lift a finger to help him!" She lowered her head in shame.

"Naruto, you do everything on your own. Everything."

He turned his gaze upon me, "Ren, you saw that Sakura was stuck in a Genjutsu, but you didn't even bother to release her from it, only focusing on trying to find me."

Kakashi finally looked down to Sasuke, "And Sasuke here thought that everybody here was beneath him and were worthless. Arrogance. Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Of course you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Shinobi understand this. When individuals put themselves before the squad, this can lead to failure and death." He grabbed a kunai from his pouch, "Sakura, kill Ren now or Sasuke dies."

It was nice to have lived.

Thankfully, he put the kunai back where it belongs, "That's what happens on a mission. The enemy takes a hostage and you have to make an impossible choice, and someone ends up dead," He got off of Sasuke and went to the Memorial Stone that Takeshi and I would visit a lot, "Have you ever looked at this stone? The names engraved on it? They are all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village."

"That's it! I'm going to have my name engraved on that stone too!" Naruto stupidly exclaimed.

I sighed, "Naruto, I don't think you really understand what that stone is for."

"They're for a special kind of hero," Kakashi finished for me.

"Really what kind?!"

"Naruto," I said solemnly, "They're all KIA."

He started grinning, "That sounds real cool!"

"Naruto, that means 'Killed In Action'. That means that they've all died." Sakura said.

The blonde seemed to take a hint and lowered his head, obviously shocked. I looked at Sasuke, only to see that he was already seated beside me, looking gloomier than before.

"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here." Kakashi said.

Everyone seemed really taken aback by this. In fact, I am too, but that's what happens when you're a shinobi. This is expected.

"Alright," He started again, "I'm going to give you one more chance, but this time it's going to be much harder, and you'll only have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength, but don't give Naruto any. That's what he gets for breaking the rules and trying to eat by himself. If anyone tries to feed him, that person will immediately fail."

We all sent him the nastiest glare we could possibly conjure up, but he was unfazed by it. "I make the rules, got it?"

He left without another word.

* * *

Sasuke, Sakura and I all ate our lunch in peace.

"This is no big deal! I could go without eating for days, for weeks! Believe it, this is no big deal!"

Right, there was that too. Naruto's stomach growled for the fiftieth time today. I sighed and looked at my lunch, then back to him. Well, I still have a bunch of food at home, and I could always pass by the Dango shop. Sighing again, I held out my lunch to the blonde, "Well, your stomach sure is making a big deal out of it. You can eat my lunch."

"Huh?" Naruto looked at me like a confused puppy.

Sasuke followed my actions and held his out too, "Here, have some of mine."

"What?" Naruto looked even more confused than before.

"Sasuke, Ren, you both can't do that," Sakura said, "You heard what Kakashi-sensei said."

"He isn't here now, is he?" I said.

"We need to get those bells as a team. If Naruto's hungry, he'll be weak and useless. That hurts the team and jeopardizes the mission."

Sakura took his explanation into consideration before handing Naruto her lunch as well, "I'm on a diet, and I don't eat as much as Ren and Sasuke do, so...just take it, alright?"

"I can't take it! I can't move my hands. You all are going to have to feed me," Naruto told us. Well, this was a bit annoying, but it shouldn't matter if it got us one of those goddamn bells.

"Sakura, hurry the hell up. Kakashi-sensei might show up any minute now," I said getting my chopsticks ready to feed Naruto.

"This is just a one time thing, got it Naruto!" She brought her chopsticks up to his mouth to feed him.

"Clear as a bell, Sakura!" He said while happily chewing.

"Same goes for me, Short stuff," I said as I fed him some of my rice.

Before Naruto could respond, a huge cloud of smoke appeared right before our eyes. Kakashi popped right out and yelled out, "You four!"

I stood my ground, ready to defend myself should he attack.

"You broke the rules, and I hope you're all ready for the punishment." He started performing these hand signs and a bunch of these storm clouds formed in the sky above us. Lightning broke out all around us, and I was probably looking at death in the face for the third time today. "Any last words?"

"Bury me with my mackerel pillow," I whispered to myself. Sasuke seemed to hear me and gave me an 'are-you-kidding-me' look.

"You said that there were four of us! That's what you said, so that's why Sakura, Ren, and Sasuke..." Naruto trailed off, but it enough for us to rebound off of.

"We're all in this squad," Sasuke started.

"So we're all in this together," I finished.

Sakura looked like she caught on to our plan, "Yeah that's right! We gave our lunch to Naruto because the four of us are one!"

"Believe it! That's right!" Naruto yelled.

"The four of you are one? Don't make me laugh," Kakashi said. He inched closer until he was only inches away from our faces.

"You pass."

"What?" I asked him. Really?

"You pass."

"What do you mean? How did we pass?" Sakura questioned. That's a good one, why DID we pass?

"You're the first ones who succeeded. All the others just did what I told them, and fell for every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends, are worse than scum."

I smiled. Not too bad for a porn reading Jonin.

"He's kinda cool, you know," I heard Naruto say.

"The exercise is complete. Everyone passes. Team Seven starts it's first mission tomorrow!"

"Yes!" Sakura squealed.

I looked beside me, "Looks like I'll be sticking around, Sasuke. Try not to fall behind." I smirked at a job well done. Just wait until I tell Takeshi!

"That's it! I'm finally a ninja! Ninja, ninja, ninja!" Naruto exclaimed in excitement.

"Let's go home everyone." Kakashi said as Sasuke, Sakura, and I trailed behind him.

I get the sense that I forgot something at the training grounds.

* * *

**THANK GOD I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. I GOT A WHOLE WEEK AND A HALF OFF FROM SCHOOL I SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING HOMEWORK BUT IDGAF I NEEDED THIS OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY. THIS IS ALL 6,006 WORDS HOLY SHIT I'VE BEEN UP ALL NIGHT**

**Anways sorry for that. Thank you for reading! Next up is the Land of Waves Arc ;_; (cries in corner bc school and fanfiction don't mix) 1 review=1404108 cry**

**Shoutouts to:**

**duskstar95  
scoobycandy  
Buzooka Zooka  
Daenerys Dunham  
Kaylamrr  
Tinalili  
Giotto21  
nachobeats823  
IxLOVExALOISxTRANCYx  
Purple Dragon Ranger  
Smilingmona**


	6. Chapter 5: Do I Have To?

Chapter 5: Do I Have To?

* * *

"Sasuke at Point B," I heard from my intercom.

"Sakura at Point C," Followed after.

"Ren at Point D."

"Naruto at Point A, believe it," Naruto said. Did he really have to add that on?

"You're too slow to report, Naruto," I heard our sensei say, "Alright, Squad 7, go!" All four of us rushed at the target, but it was _really _fast. It moved away from us quickly, but we all managed to stay hidden. "Okay, what's your distance from the target?"

"Five meters," Naruto responded, "I'm ready. Just give the signal."

"I'm ready too," Sasuke replied.

"I am too," Sakura said.

"I'm good to go," I said as well.

Kakashi waited for a moment before answering, "Okay...now!" We jumped from our hiding spots and quickly readied ourselves to capture the target. Naruto had gotten to it and grabbed her with both arms.

"I got the cat!" He said. Yes, _a cat__. We were all ordered to find a lost cat_. You know, when I signed up to become a ninja, I thought that we would be getting cool missions with crazy ass missing-nin and criminals. Not missions that include capturing lost cats. _'Just think of the money_,_'_ I would constantly remind myself.

The feline started to claw at Naruto's face, much to my annoyance, "Naruto, just stop annoying the cat. The noise is bothering me."

"What?! But it attacked me first-OW!"

"Seriously, keep it down," I said. I was about to report to Kakashi, but it looks like Sasuke beat me to it.

"Alright, 'Capture Tora the Cat' is complete. Mission accomplished," He announced on the mic.

Naruto didn't seem all that impressed though, thinking that yelling through his speaker was going to get us anywhere. I think my right ear is temporarily deaf thanks to him.

* * *

We came back to the Academy, which is where our missions are assigned and where we get our reward. The woman who owned Tora was there, and to be honest, I don't blame her for leaving. The large woman hugged and squished it, not caring if it was okay or not. If I had an owner like that, I would've probably run away too. To think that this woman was the feudal lord's wife. Standards must be pretty low nowadays.

"Now then," The Third Hokage started, "For Squad Seven's next assignment, we have several available tasks. Among them are babysitting the chief counselor's three year old, helping his wife to do the shopping, picking the potatoes, and-"

"NO!" Naruto interrupted, putting his arms in a big old 'X', "I WANT TO GO ON A REAL MISSION! SOMETHING CHALLENGING AND EXCITING, NOT THIS LITTLE KID STUFF," He exclaimed, "COME ON OLD MAN!"

"Can't say I've been really happy with the missions we've gotten as well," I mumbled, not wanting the Hokage to hear me, "Could have told the Hokage differently though."

"How dare you!" Iruka-sensei scolded, "You're just a brand new Genin with no experience! Like everybody else you start out with simple missions to gain experience and to prove yourself!"

Naruto gave him a comeback, "Are you serious?! Babysitting is not a mission, it's just a stupid-OUCH!" With all his rambling on and disrespect, it earned him a blow to the head from none other than Kakashi. Well, Blondie deserved it, the way he's been acting towards his elders.

"Put a lid on it, will you?" The Jonin told him.

"Naruto," I heard the Hokage say, "It seems that you don't understand the tasks you've been given. Listen, many different types of requests come into our village everyday. From babysitting to assassination..."

Knowing where this was going, I turned to my teammates, not really wanting to hear yet again how the whole mission system works, "So, what are you all doing after this?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Training," is all I got from Sasuke. Typical.

"Well, I was thinking of reading," Kakashi said.

"Takeshi still isn't back, so I think I'll train as well."

"I'm going to Ichiraku tonight so..." Naruto lamely commented.

Before Sakura could get a word in, the Hokage noticed that we weren't paying attention anymore, "Hey! Listen!"

Kakashi absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh, sorry about that."

Naruto spun around to face the old man, "Grr, you're always lecturing me like you're my grandfather or something! I'm not the little brat that used to pull pranks all the time. I'm a ninja now, and I want a ninja mission!"

If Kakashi didn't look embarassed before, he sure did now. "I'm going to have to hear about this later," I heard him grumble.

Lord Hokage simply chuckled and responded, "So be it. Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

My head shot up, "You're kidding me, right?"

"Really? Yes!" Naruto said, "Who are we guarding? A princess? Or a feudal lord?"

I lightly pounded his head, "Idiot. Those would be A-rank missions. We're not ready for those yet."

"Ren is right, Naruto, but don't be so impatient. I'll bring him in now," The Hokage said, pipe in his mouth. "Send him in!"

The team turned around to see who we were supposed to protect. The door opened, and out came this old man with a sake bottle. I sweat dropped. Well, this is a C-rank mission after all. What _was _I expecting?

"What's this? They all look like snot-nosed brats," The old man slurred his words, obviously drunk. "Especially the short one with the stupid face!"

Naruto started looking at Sakura, Sasuke, and I, "Haha! Who's the short one with the stupid face, huh?" It took him a moment to realize that he was much shorter than all three of us. "I'll kill you!"

"I am the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna," The drunk introduced, "I expect you to provide me with super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."

* * *

I went home to pack my things and agreed to meet up at the front gates of the village. I brought with me some essentials like shuriken and kunai in case we get attacked. I also packed some toiletries and some first aid stuff, just because if Naruto was going to be running all about, he's bound to get hurt one way or another.

I finished and locked up my house, making sure that I didn't leave anything behind. I left a note for Takeshi in case he came back early and I was still gone so he won't worry about me. Surely though the other clan members would tell him, but you never know. We all aren't exactly tight knit and what not. I also left a note for Shikamaru at the front door. Knowing him, he's bound to drop by since we haven't seen each other in a few weeks, a new occurrence I must say. Which reminds me, I really should check up on old Pineapple Head. Can't have him slacking off without me.

* * *

I arrived at the front gates and it looks like I wasn't the only one waiting. Sakura and Sasuke had already arrived, and it looked like Naruto wasn't too far off.

"Did Kakashi-sensei come yet?" I asked as I approached my teammates. They both shook their heads and I sighed. One would think he would come on time for this sort of stuff. Naruto came and asked the same question, only to be met with Kakashi and his lame excuses. I brushed them off, knowing full well that this was going to be regular thing now.

As we walked on the trailed, Naruto turned and cheered, "All right!"

I let out an exasperated breath, "What's got you all worked up now, huh?"

"This is the first time I've been outside the village! I'm a traveler now believe it!" The blonde started to get way too excited for my liking, jumping up and down, spinning his head in every direction. I think I'm going to get a headache if he keeps this up.

"Am I really supposed to trust my life to this runt?" Tazuna the bridge builder whined, "He's a complete joke!"

Kakashi laughed awkwardly, "I'll also be accompanying you, and I'm a Jonin, so you don't have to worry about anything."

Naruto heard and was not happy about it, "Hey! Never insult a ninja, it's a big mistake!" He said, "Someday I'm going to be the Hokage and you'll have to look up to me. My name is Naruto Uzumaki and you better remember it!"

Tazuna took a gulp from his, uh, _beverage,_ "Hokage are powerful and wise, but you're puny and brainless. The day you become Hokage is the day I'll sprout wings and fly."

Ouch, but that was a pretty good insult. I'm going to have to remember that. Obviously not interested in watching two weirdos argue it out, I unfortunately only had two options for a conversation. Option one was Sasuke, but even I know that even if we are on the same team, it doesn't mean that we have to be friends. Well, eventually maybe, but that could take years. Option two was Sakura, but honestly, I don't think she can be in a conversation for too long without talking about Sasuke. Hmm, decisions, decisions...

Ultimately I decided on Sasuke. Better to talk with someone who is upfront with you rather than giving you fake smiles and annoying questions. "Hey, Duck Butt," I called out to him. His head whipped around in annoyance, but he responded to my little nickname, making it official!

"What do you want, Deadbeat?" He asked, clearly bothered by my pet name.

I shrugged, "Just wanted to see if I could have a decent conversation with _someone_."

"Why don't you talk with Sakura? You two are girls," He said, "just talk about girl stuff and leave me alone."

"Hn, do you really expect me to talk about girl stuff? What exactly do you think I've been doing these past few years?"

He didn't respond. Fine, I guess I'll talk to Sakura then. I turned to her, but she was too wrapped up in ogling Sasuke. I sighed, looks like I'm going to have to go through this mission as a mute.

* * *

**I had an extra snow day (Almost 2 weeks) so I decided to work on a new chapter :) But yeah I didn't really like the Land of Waves Arc :/ It might take me a while to finish it, but the others I definitely will finish faster and will certainly be WAAAAYYYY better than what I can come with for the Land of Waves. I apologize in advanced if Ren isn't as sassy as before, but my sass tank needs refilling. And I'm too lazy to look up sass quotes. Idk I might use some stuff from tumblr or something. **

**Her clan is also something I'll get to in future chapters. Right now I'm trying to plan everything accordingly so that anything she does won't interfere with the plot or whatever. **

**Btw does anyone know any good fanfictions. Mainly in Free! (Anyone/OC) or Pokemon (Conflictingshipping, Checkmateshipping, LiveCastershipping, Kalosshipping). Thanks :)**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Shoutouts to:**

**Daenerys Dunham  
FreyaHawthorne  
Tokejii  
SkatingAngel  
crystal8wolf**

** .7**

**Koga The Funk**


	7. Chapter 6: A Little Bit Bothered

Chapter 6: A Little Bit Bothered

* * *

We walked on the same path for what felt like hours. I was just about done walking and was ready to just plop down on the grass and take a nice long nap. Sadly, I probably wasn't going to get that considering I was traveling with an old coot and an idiot who don't seem to know when to shut the hell up. The other three weren't as bad, thank God. The only other girl was too busy giving the black haired arrogant ass goo-goo eyes and our teacher was just as much of a slacker as me, albeit less likely to take a nap in the middle of nowhere. This whole process of figuring out what the hell was wrong with everybody took about ten minutes each time. Like I said, it has probably been a few hours, so I spent the other 150 or so minutes trying not to sleep walk. Instead, I've been planning new shogi strategies next time I meet with Shikamaru. It's probably a waste of time, considering I would lose to him anyways, but it's nice to give oneself hope every once in awhile.

The arguing, staring, and slacking went on and on with an ending nowhere in sight. I stared at the ground, getting quite sick of looking at a cloudless sky. It was nothing but blue and maybe an occasional flying black speck of a bird or another. Nothing too interesting up there. Just my luck, something caught my interest on our pathway. It was a puddle, but if I'm not mistaken, it hasn't rained in the last few weeks or so. A puddle in a seemingly dry area is kind of ridiculous. I was about to tell Kakashi about it, but I saw that he was staring at it as well. I decided not to tell him. He must certainly have figured it out by now. If not, then he's doing his job wrong.

After a few more steps away from the obvious trap, two pairs of metal chains went flying from behind Kakashi and wrapped around him. Wait, he looked caught off guard. Are you telling me that he didn't know that that was a trap?! Are you kidding me right now?! The two chains wrapped around him tighter and tighter until he was nothing but a sliced up sensei.

Everybody looked shocked. I would be too, but then again, Kakashi couldn't be defeated that easily, could he? The two ninja who attacked our sensei appeared right behind Naruto snickering like children.

"Now it's your turn," One of them said. Naruto turned around, but he went rigid at the sight of them. Why wasn't he moving? DID HE WANT TO DIE?

Before I could rush over and protect him, Sasuke beat me to the punch and threw a shuriken and kunai in between the enemy ninja's chain blade things. He landed on top of both their hands looking like the biggest show off in history. Apparently he wasn't finished though and proceeded to kick both of them in the face. They seemed relatively stunned that someone that small and obviously inexperienced could easily foil their plans like that. Yeah, can you not?

Our special guests weren't quite done with us yet and released their chains from their hands. They both turned around and just flew past Sasuke and Naruto, heading straight towards me and Tazuna. Sakura was quick to respond, but she was obviously not ready. I appeared right in front of her, ready to defend when the little black haired asshole popped up in front of me as well. Little shit looked about ready to take a hit, but it didn't matter because Kakashi had joined in and had them rush into his bent arms. They stopped dead in their tracks. Everyone looked pleased, well except me and Sasuke. Sasuke was probably mad that he couldn't save the day. I on the other hand was a bit annoyed. Did he not think I couldn't take care of myself?

Kakashi moved towards a nearby tree, but stopped to look to us, "Naruto, I'm sorry I couldn't help you right away, but I didn't expect you to get hurt. Didn't know that you would freeze up like that." That was all he said to Naruto, but he wasn't finished with us, "Good job Sasuke, very smooth, and that was some very fast reacting, Ren. Nice work at defending too, Sakura."

I felt quite pleased with myself. Naruto on the other hand, not so much. He looked furious as he looked over on us. Sasuke seemed to notice this and planted a smirk on his face.

"You're not hurt are you, scaredy cat."

Naruto looked even angrier than before. I just sighed, "Stop being a dick, Sasuke. He can't help it." The blonde was about to charge at us, but Kakashi quickly told him to stop.

"Naruto, stop moving so much. These ninja had poison in their claws. We need to take it out of you quickly. Don't move around or else the poison will spread."

That didn't sit well with the idiot. He started freaking out thinking he was going to die. I briskly walked towards him and told him to sit down. He didn't seem to listen, so I sat him down forcefully, "Naruto, stay still." I placed my hands on his wound and focused my chakra so that the all familiar green light would appear on them. I focused in on it while Sakura looked on in awe. Once I was done, I stood him back up, "That should slow down the effects, but not by much. We really do need to get you to a doctor soon."

I went back to my old spot while Naruto looked at his hand in amazement, "How did you do that, Ren?"

Before I could answer, Kakashi cut me off, "Looks like you've been learning some medical ninjutsu huh? Good work." He turned to Tazuna now, both enemy ninja still in his possession, "Mr. Tazuna, we need to talk." He went and tied both ninja up in a tree and went a few feet away from us to talk to Tazuna in private for a few minutes.

We watched the two ninja while Sakura kept bothering me about what it was I was doing to Naruto earlier. "How did you learn how to use medical ninjutsu Ren?"

I let out a breath, "Well, my brother is, uh, _good friends,_ with a medic nin in our clan. She's around a lot when he's around, so I picked it up from her. I don't know too much though, so don't expect me to save you from a life threatening disease or anything. I can only do things like a few cuts, bruises, and some injuries. Nothing too big," I said nonchalantly.

Sakura nodded in understanding and turned to Naruto to stop yelling and complaining. This left me and Sasuke a few moments to talk before Kakashi would come back.

"Hey, Duck-Butt, I have a question."

He grunted in response.

"Why'd you get in front of me when those two bozos were coming for Tazuna?"

He grunted again, "You're too slow. You couldn't have reacted fast enough."

I was a bit insulted, I admit, "Really now?"

"Yeah, so drop it," He snapped at me.

I 'hmphed' where I stood, "Someone's PMSing today." I muttered.

He looked especially annoyed at this, "Shut up, Deadbeat."

I was going to throw a name at him as well, but the two people tied up to the tree started to wake up now. "This isn't over, Duck."

"Never even begun, Slacker."

* * *

**THIS UPDATE TOOK WAY TOO LONG TO GET UP I'M SORRY OMG. **

**So, I wanted to focus a bit more on school so I could stay on honor roll and to do that I had to put this on hold for a few days :( I know I missed me too, but now I'm back! The semester is over and I have a bit of freetime to use on writing. I have also decided to make this a SasukexOC story partly because I have some really cute moments coming up and I can't wait to show you guys :3 Sorry this isn't the full episode though, but with three projects due at the same week XP My head practically exploded**

**I have also gotten back into the Harry Potter fandom and omfg Harry James Potter will be the death of me. **

**Thank you for reading!**

**Shout outs to:**

**Kiarra24  
Daenerys Dunham  
AwesomelyNinjaness  
sin kx**


	8. Chapter 7: Idiots

Chapter 7: Idiots

* * *

As I continued to watch the two stupid looking ninja try to wake up, Kakashi and Tazuna walked up from behind us.

"These two are Chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting whatever the sacrifice," Our sensei explained. Well, if they were trained to be that kind of shinobi, they weren't trained very well if they could be stopped by a couple of new Genin.

The two seemed to have come to their senses and gave all six of us a hate filled glare. Me not being able to tolerate it when people give me those, I sent them one back.

"How did you know about our ambush?" One of them asked. I couldn't really tell because of the idiotic masks they had on their face. Probably hiding some hideous face deformations. Their hair fit the description anyways.

I scoffed, "It was your stupid puddle 'disguise'," Air quotes on disguise. Before I could go any further in mocking their stupidity, Kakashi put a hand up, telling me that it probably wasn't in the best interest to anger the hostages. I huffed and crossed my arms in disagreement. Whatever.

"It hasn't rained in weeks, and there was a puddle in the middle of a clear day," He explained. The others looked confused as to why he hadn't mentioned it earlier. In fact, I'm wondering about that a little bit as well, but he must have a good reason to put us all in danger.

Tazuna turned his head towards him, "In that case, why didn't you say anything sooner? Why'd you leave the Genin to do all the fighting?"

"I could have taken them out quickly."

Cue me trying to hide my snickers of laughter. How embarrassing!

"But then I would have learned nothing," He continued sending a pointed look at the old geezer, "I needed to know who their target was, and who they were after."

Talk about chill in the air. Tazuna was practically shaking in his boots. He tried to act innocent, but nobody here was going to buy it. We may look dumb, but we sure as hell aren't stupid (can't say the same about Naruto though).

"What are you getting at?!" Tazuna questioned, obviously shaky.

"I wanted to know if they were after us. Ninja attacking ninja. Or if they were after you, the master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from people like robbers and highwaymen. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you; hunting you down. If we knew this, it would be a B ranked mission or higher. Our task was to simply bring you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew that we would be fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would have staffed differently and have charged for a B ranked mission. Apparently you have your reasons, but lying to us is not acceptable. We're now beyond the scope of this mission."

Wow, can you try not to make the old man look less ashamed than he already is. Sakura then spoke up, much to my surprise (cough, SARCASM, cough).

"We're Genin. This is too advanced for our level. We should go back," The pink haired girl said, "and I think that we really need to treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible! We need to take him back to the village and to a doctor."

"No shit," I muttered under my breath, but as much as I hate to admit it, she's right. "I've done all I can for Naruto's wound, Kakashi-sensei. Even then it wasn't much. He really needs some medical attention, but I can still try and slow it down if you want to keep on going with the mission," I offered, "We shouldn't be that far from the Land of Waves anyways. Seems like a waste of time to just travel back to the Leaf."

Sakura looked shocked at my comment, "Do you really want to keep on going?! This mission is way too dangerous for us to continue! We're just Genin, not even that experienced. We can't take on fully trained ninja!"

"We seemed to do just fine with those two over there," I pointed at the two ninja in front of us, "If the rest are just like them, I don't see what trouble these Mist ninja can cause for us." Sakura and the two tied up ninja seemed to look especially frustrated with me, but I could honestly care less.

"Alright, enough. Ren, I appreciate your offer about Naruto's hand, but these medical issues are too advanced for you to fix. Although you can slow it down, I don't want to risk him not being able to get through the whole journey to the Land of Waves. Naruto's hand will be a problem, so I guess we should just turn back and go to the village."

Sakura, like the little bitch she is, turned to me with a snobby look, obviously saying _'I won, ha!' _How can we turn back?! It's such a waste of time, energy, and effort! Even Naruto, the one who's gotten injured, doesn't seem happy about this!

He let out a growl and out of nowhere took out a kunai and stabbed his hand. Lovely.

"Why am I so different? I worked so hard to get here; pushing myself until it hurt! Training alone for hours, anything to become stronger. To reach my dream," He explained, "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away, neither will I lose to Sasuke. Upon this wound I make this pledge, believe it. Bridge builder, I will complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife! A real ninja never gives up and neither will I. You guys don't need to worry about me; I'll be fine! Now let's go!"

Well that was very enlightening. Too bad he's going to die of major blood loss now.

"Naruto, uh," Kakashi started, "That was real cool and all how you got the poison out, but if you lose anymore blood, you're going to die."

At this point, after a small silence, Naruto started flailing about like the idiot he is. Not like I expected his seriousness to last long.

"Ren! Help me! I can't die like this, not here!" He panicked.

I sighed, "Maybe if you stopped running around like a maniac, I'll consider helping you out. All the noise you're making is giving me a headache."

Sakura came up to him, hands on her hips and ready to start an argument as always, "Naruto, you have a self-abusive personality. It's called masochism." She said, obviously being an insufferable know-it-all.

"Alright, alright. Now, I know this isn't a very small wound, Ren, but you should really at least try and help him. You two are teammates after all," Kakashi said taking out his bandages and wrapping it around Naruto's hand.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I mumbled.

After our sensei finished treating Naruto's wound, we set back off for the Land of Waves. Everything resumed it's previous place. I was bored to death, Sasuke is a depressing log, Sakura is a whiny wimp, Kakashi is just as bored looking as me, Tazuna looks drunk as ever, and Naruto now had a battle wound to talk on and on about. What a great trip it's been so far. One can only hope for the amount of fun I'm having right now.

* * *

After maybe two and a half more hours of walking, all six of us arrived at this misty old dock. There was a rower in a rickety old boat and Tazuna had obviously known who it was. Not surprising though if he really is a famous bridge builder or something. We all climbed in and went through the thick mist with relative ease, although there were a few times where the rower told us to keep quiet (more like tell Naruto, Sakura, or both to be quiet).

On our way down whatever the hell we were rowing on, we ended up getting a nice look at the supposed bridge that Tazuna was building. It didn't look very close to being finished, but hopefully he's got the whole town working so he could just wrap it up. I really wanted to go home soon, or to anyone's home for that matter. My mackerel pillow (his name is Ruku) is in the bottom of my bag and I'm not sure how long I can keep him down there. Sure, I could have brought Karumu or Hari, but Ruku's never been on long trips before, seeing as though he's a fairly new addition to the family. I thought that he could maybe want to get some fresh air and freedom.

Anyways, while I was pondering about my precious mackerel pillows back at home, I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard someone call my name.

"Hey, Nanase, get up. We're going," Sasuke said from the now clear and new dock.

I shook my head, "At least you're using some of my name now," I grumbled making him send me an annoyed look, "So, did I miss anything important?"

"You mean to tell me that you missed that entire conversation on the boat?" He asked with disbelief and irritation in his voice. Instead of actually telling me, he went up to Kakashi instead and told him that I ignored the whole boat ride. "Sounds like something you and Naruto would do, but at least he listened." Oh okay. I see how it is then.

Kakashi looked back at me with a sweat drop, probably not wanting to explain to me what happened. I sent him a dirty look and went up to Sasuke, "You just lost your last name privileges, Duck Butt."

"Fine Deadbeat." He went to the other side of the group, near the front with Naruto.

"Uh, Ren? I'll explain on the way there if you don't mind," Kakashi said gently. I sighed as I went up beside him as he talked about how Tazuna is being hunted down and blah blah blah business man named Gato, blah blah blah, elite Jonin probably going to kill us, blah blah blah, his grandson and daughter, blah blah blah. Nothing that I was really interested in in the first place, but it might be useful.

We walked on for a little while until Naruto threw a kunai at some random tree, spouting out nonsense about him sensing someone in that direction. Everybody looked freaked out, and honestly I was a bit too. Maybe this idiot was right for once?

He put a hand to his neck, "Oh, it was nothing. Just a mouse."

I smacked my head in annoyance, "Are you kidding me? You're so lame it's laughable."

"Naruto, you don't just throw kunai knives. Their dangerous," Kakashi said with warning in his tone.

Tazuna was the least it happy about this, "Stop scaring me you tiny little dwarf!"

Of course, he didn't listen one bit and just kept on trying to be cool when obviously he wasn't. Then, for a second time, he threw a kunai to our left. Okay, talk about idiotic recklessness. Sakura had the (for once) right idea to give him a good whack on top of the head for being such an idiot.

"What did you do that for?!" He complained, "Somebody really is following us, I mean it!"

"Yeah right! Quit lying and stop acting like a dumb kid!" Sakura scolded.

I simply shook my head and crossed my arms, trying not to experience this much idiocy. It might be contagious. Kakashi went over to where Naruto threw one of the kunai knives, probably wanting to see if his words really were true. They would be obviously false though. This kid wouldn't be able to tell if the feudal lord was right in front of us, much less if some stalker was following our merry band of misfits.

Sakura and Naruto went up from behind Kakashi to check out what it was, and to my utter and complete surprise (note the sarcasm), it was a fucking bunny, probably suffering from psychological trauma from it's near death experience. Naruto went up and started apologizing to the rabbit.

"All this fuss over a rodent," Tazuna muttered.

As we watched Naruto completely embarrass himself by talking to a rabbit, I couldn't help the feeling that we really were being watched, no matter how faint it was. I looked around, but didn't see anything of interest. I looked over to Kakashi to see if he's felt anything suspicious, but he looked deep in thought, or bored, so I'm sure he hasn't. I turned to Sasuke, but it looked like he didn't seem to notice anything either. It might just be Naruto's stupid 'sensing' abilities influencing me.

Then out of the blue, Kakashi yelled, "Get down!"

I ducked like told, but wasn't really sure as to why. My eyes wandered the area, looking for something, and there it was. The largest sword I've probably ever seen in my entire life. It was lodged into a nearby tree, and a person just happened to pop out of thin air and land on the hilt of the sword. I got into a fighting stance. He was obviously trying to decapitate us or something, so I don't really want to take any chances. I'm not really sure if he's the 'let's have some tea and shogi' kind of person.

"Well, well," I saw Kakashi walk up to the stranger, "If it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rouge ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist."

Rogue ninja? Alright. I think I'll just go and play with Ruku before I die a horrific death from that huge ass sword.

* * *

**I FEEL BAD FOR NOT POSTING THIS SOONER ASFJOAHGKANGOWEOG**

**These updates are coming slower than I thought I could make them :( but yeah, all that time off didn't get me on honor roll (cries for 414515234123432 years) 1 review = 251259123759872 cries. I don't like school, but it's essential sorry. I've been trying to hold off writing this bc Olympics (YUZURU HANYU WON GOLD BITCHES CAN'T MESS WITH HIM) family trips (we're not going to Florida, instead we're fucking skiing when they know I'm deathly afraid of heights) and tumblr has consumed my free time. Sorry about that :( **

**Thank you for reading!**

**Shout outs to:**

**ShioriOokami  
nicenancy654  
Selene Mystery  
Daenerys Dunham  
Sleepi Panda  
Nightrave1726**


	9. Chapter 8: The Sharingan

Chapter 8: The Sharingan

* * *

Well, right now, we're in a little predicament. There's a rogue ninja named Zabuza right in front of us and I'm positive he doesn't want to have some tea and dango with us. Naruto had idiotically tried to charge at him guns blazing, but before he could get killed, Kakashi stopped him. "Stay back. He's way different from the ones we fought earlier." He brought a hand up to his forehead protector.

"I'm guessing you're Kakashi the Sharingan User," Zabuza said tauntingly.

Wait what. Sharingan? Excuse me? Um, yeah, you probably have the wrong guy. There's only two people who have the Sharingan, and one of them is standing not too far from me, looking just as confused as I was. I sent the Uchiha a look asking if he knew anything about it. He looked towards me and replied with a look of suspicion and confusion all mixed together. Well, looks like I'm not getting an answer from him. Only the Uchiha can have the Sharingan, so why in the world does Kakashi of all people have it? He doesn't really fit the Uchiha description of dark black hair and eyes of the oblivion.

"Everyone, get into the swastika formation," He said, not bothering to deny Zabuza's accusation, "Protect Tazuna. Don't interfere. I taught you all teamwork and now it's time to use it. " He raised the headband all the way up, revealing said Sharingan. Well, guess there's our proof. It looked exactly like the Sharingan. Red with black tomoe surrounding the pupil. "Fight me, Zabuza."

"I'm honored to see that Sharingan I've heard all about so early on," Zabuza replied, turning towards our sensei.

"You keep saying 'Sharingan this' and 'Sharingan that', but what is it?!" Naruto yelled, obviously frustrated about not knowing what it was. I even saw the 'smartest kunoichi of our year' growing frustrated as well. Hm, guess you can't know everything.

"The Sharingan..." Sasuke started slowly, "The eye creates it, and it is the power that the pupil generates. Ones who use eye techniques are said to have eye powers that are able to see through all Genjutsu, Taijutus, and Ninjutsu and cancels their effects. Sharingan is one of those eye techiniques. However, that's not all the Sharingan can do."

"That's the most you've said in a long time," I mumbled, gaining a glare from Sasuke. It's not like it's not true!

"Correct. That isn't it," Zabuza said, "The scary part is that the Sharingan can understand how an opponent's technique works, and copy it."

Mist started to surround us. It became very hard to see, but that didn't mean that we couldn't hear just as well. After a few moments, Zabuza continued speaking. "When I was in the Hidden Mist's Assassination Squad your information was in the bingo book we carried, and it asked for your capture. It also said this; The man who copied more than a thousand techniques, Kakashi the copy ninja."

Sakura's jaw practically dropped to the ground in awe and Naruto looked amazed, "Amazing!"

"When he says it like that, Kakashi-sensei sounds like a huge badass," I muttered in slight awe. I'm not as surprised at the fact that Kakashi was in a bingo book. He was in ANBU after all and worked with my brother sometimes. Takeshi would mention him when I was younger and said that he was one of the best. Then again, you have to be the best to be in ANBU. I'm pretty sure everyone there is in someone's bingo book. I'm still, though, a bit baffled that Kakashi has a Sharingan. Is there a possibility that...?

"Let's cut the chit-chat here," Zabuza said, "I have to kill the old man right away."

No way he's dying on our watch. We quickly got in front of Tazuna as his eyes widened in fear. Did he have any confidence in us? I swear, we might look like a bunch of losers and we might hate him a bit, but we aren't going to jeopardize the mission because of those two little problems.

"But it looks like I have to defeat you first, Kakashi."

He kicked off of the tree and dashed off with his sword.

Where did he go? I whirled my head around in every direction looking for the horrible cow print wearing ninja, but luckily Naruto spotted him.

"There!" Naruto pointed in his direction.

"And he's on top of the water!" Sakura cried.

He was standing on top of the lake, eyes closed and his hand in a Chakra gathering seal and the other above his head.

The mist grew thicker, and soon, I could barely see. I squinted and saw that the water around him was growing wild and heard something that didn't sound very pleasant.

"Hidden Mist Jutsu."

Great, now we're basically half blind with a killer that could show up anywhere at anytime.

How wonderful this day is turning out to be.

"He disappeared!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto, he's hiding in the mist, so he's somewhere around here," I said.

"Sensei." Sakura said as Kakashi walked around.

"He'll try to eliminate me first, but..." He was talking to himself. Hm, guess we all do it every now and then.

"What is he?" Sakura asked trying to get his attention.

"Zaubaza Momochi," He replied, "He was in the Hidden Mist's ANBU, and was known for his 'silent killing' techniques."

"Silent...?" Naruto asked.

"It means that you can be killed at anytime and no one would know because it's done in complete silence. Not even a sound will come out of you," I explained. Everyone looked freaked out, and I can't say that I wasn't as well.

"Right. I can't use my Sharingan to my full potential. So don't let your guard down," Kakashi said.

"Ugh, you make it sound like a walk in the park," I said.

"The mist is getting thicker!" Naruto panicked.

"The Land of Waves is surrounded by the ocean, so a mist often emerges," Tazuna said quietly.

Then suddenly, Kakashi's silhouette just disappeared. Lovely. Sakura and Naruto were starting to panic and I'm sure that Sasuke wasn't his usual calm self right now either, "Calm down all of you! You can't let your guard down!" I said.

Silence and suspense filled the air and I was getting very nervous. He could come up right behind me, and no one will realize that I'll be dead till it's too late. Zabuza could be anywhere right now.

"Eight points." I heard from nowhere.

We all jumped at the voice.

"What?" Sakura asked, slight fear in her tone.

"The larynx, spine, lungs, livers, jugular vein, collarbone, kidneys, and heart. Now, which organ do you want to get struck on?" We heard again.

"Livers." I muttered, eyes closed. I saw Sasuke give me an 'Are-you-fucking-with-me-right-now' look. I was about to respond. Then it hit me. That feeling of blood lust. I started shaking like crazy and sweating buckets. Sasuke was having the same feeling. He was now grabbing a kunai from his pouch and pointing it towards his body. What's he thinking? I was about to reach for his hand to stop him, but I myself couldn't move. Instead, I did the exact opposite. My hand went reaching up towards my pouch as well, a shuriken coming to my grasp. The pressure was absolutely suffocating. I wasn't able to take it anymore.

We were about to strike the killing blow on ourselves, but a voice stopped us.

"Sasuke, Ren." Us two heard. Our heads jerked up.

"Don't worry, I'll protect both of you with my life."

I stared at him and he simply smiled back. "Don't worry. I'll protect the four of you with my life."

I let out a breath. He's right. Zabuza can't possibly get past Kakashi. "We'll both be fine." I said, probably trying to convince myself more than Sasuke. At least we had both stopped our suicidal thoughts.

"I'm not too sure about that."

It was Zabuza.

In our formation.

Excuse me, but I think I can hear the Death God screaming my name.

* * *

**So, I decided on using the manga just because it's a lot easier than just switching and playing a video and then playing it back if I didn't type a line or whatever. Not much of a change. Other than that, there really isn't anything new going on right now :)**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Shout outs to:**

**IxLOVExALOISxTRANCY  
Daenerys Dunham  
StopTeasing  
PokemonNarutoLover  
nachobeats823  
animewatcher4685  
scoobycandy**


	10. Chapter 9: Not Fine

Chapter 9: Not Fine

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"This is the end," I heard from behind me.

Well, it was nice knowing everyone.

I shut my eyes, accepting defeat, but the killing blow never came. Maybe it was that silent killing thing and I was already dead. I tried to open an eye to see if I could see the bright light, but it wasn't there.

Instead, I saw Kakashi spin around, Sharingan staring right at Zabuza. He dashed forward, landing a blow right at his gut and getting straight out of our formation.

"A-amazing," I muttered, staring in awe at our sensei. I could barely see him move from his previous spot! How in the world did he get so fast?

The sound of splattering liquid echoed around us as clear liquid dribbled out of Zabuza's stomach, right where Kakashi hit him with his kunai knife.

A second Zabuza appeared right behind him.

"Sensei, behind you!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi gasped as the Zabuza in front of him turned into a puddle on the ground. He turned his head to the one behind him, only to be met with a sword being swung at his face.

"DIE!" The eye brow-less freak yelled, cutting Kakashi right in half. He smiled, only for it to be completely wiped off when he saw Kakashi's blood turn into water.

_'Did he copy the Water Clone Jutsu? But, you can barely see a thing! There's no way.' _I thought as I looked on at the battle in front of us.

In that moment, a kunai knife appeared behind Zabuza right at his neck, along with Kakashi. "Don't move," he commanded.

Zabuza obliged, but I have a really bad feeling about this. Cow Print Man doesn't look like the type to just give up so easily.

"This is the end," Kakashi said, not moving an inch.

My teammates looked especially relieved at our sensei's victory, excluding me and Sasuke.

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed in admiration.

Zabuza chuckled. You know, I don't think that's what you're supposed to do when you are moments away from death. Kakashi's eye widened in surprise.

"'It's over'?" He quoted mockingly, "You don't get it. There's no way you can defeat me with your monkey-like imitations." He chuckled again, "But that was impressive of you. When you spoke to that boy and girl, you had already copied my Water Clone Jutsu."

So, it was because of our anxiety, Kakashi was able to win? Well, we don't sound so scared and weak now do we? Kakashi hadn't moved at all and still held onto the kunai centimeters away from Zabuza's neck.

"You had your clone say those words to attract my attention, while the real you hid in the mist and watched me. Nice plan...But..."

Zabuza was standing behind Kakashi with a knife to his neck, just like our sensei had on the newly discovered clone right in front of him.

"I'm also not that easy," Kakashi's eye widened as Cow Print's clone turned into a puddle on the ground.

"That one's a fake too!" Naruto yelled in shock.

"No shit, dumbass," I hissed. Now what were we supposed to do?

The actual Zabuza appeared and swung his huge ass sword at Kakashi, not hesitating to chop him like a carrot. Kakashi ducked and the sword flew over head. Missing, Zabuza dug the end of the blade into the dry earth and used it to launched himself back round to face our sensei. He pushed off the handle with his hands and kicked Kakashi right in the side which sent him flying through the air and across the clearing.

Zabuza went to run, but saw that therer were throwing nails beneath his feet and stopped. "Foolish," he said, water swishing around Kakashi's body as he landed with a splash into the lake.

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled.

"Talk about airborne," I said, "The landing could have been better though." The rest of us looked stunned at the fact that our seemingly invincible sensei was knocked down right to the ground. His head and shoulders pushed above the surface of the water, but he looked very confused and hesitated. What could possibly be wrong this time then?

Zabuza stood behind him on top of the lake and behan making hand signs.

"Foolish," he repeated.

Our eyes grew in horror. "Water Prison Jutsu!"

I heard Kakashi swear as the water he was floating in enveloped his body, encasing him in a swirling sphere of water.

Zabuza laughed, "I now have you in my special, inescapable prison," he said, "It makes things tougher if you can move, you know? Now, Kakashi, we can finish things later. First I'll take care of them." He made a seal with one hand, facing us and Tazuna, "Water Clone Jutsu."

I felt my hands shake and sweat, but I quickly brushed off the feeling. There's absolutely no way I'm going to fail a mission this important. Even if we have no chance, I've got to stand my ground and make sure Cow Print knows I mean business.

"Wearing forehead protectors and acting like real ninjas...but you know what? A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death," Zabuza said, "In short, once you're good enough to be listed in my bingo book, then you can start calling yourself a ninja." He made a one handed seal and again, his form blended back into the mist. "Guys like you shouldn't be referred to as ninja."

I growled in frustration, "Ugh! This guy is really getting on my nerves!" I rapidly looked at my surroundings, trying to catch a little bit of movement from him. I can barely see in this mist, and there's not a chance in hell that I can dispel it in a snap yet. It wasn't doing anything great for my head either. There was this dumbass buzzing sound that kept ringing in my ear, constantly distracting me. As I sneaked another glance at my side, hoping to see Cow Print, I saw Naruto fly back as a knee hit him in the face, headband spinning right off of his head.

Zabuza was right there and stomped on the blonde's forehead protector. "Just brats," he said.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, she, Sasuke, and I turned towards him.

"You guys!" Kakashi yelled from his water, orb...thing. "Take Tazuna and run away! You have no chance against him! As long as he's keeping me trapped in this water prison, he can't move! The water clone shouldn't be able to move very far from his real body! Just run away now!"

I scoffed, "Hm, I would think you had more faith in us, Kakashi-sensei." Even if we escaped, Zabuza would undoubtedly find us, kill us along with Tazuna, and go on his merry way of murdering poor souls like us. We also can't keep up this defensive stance, lest we want him getting too close and again, kill us.

I looked at my teammates, wanting to read their expressions. If anything, they should be thinking of a plan. Naruto was shaking on the ground, so I guess no plan from him. Sakura was as frigid as ever, so she doesn't look like the thinking sort right now. Sasuke on the other hand, well I'm not too sure. He always looks like he's about to murder one person or another, so I don't really know if he wants to leave or beat the living shit out of Zabuza.

"We have to do it!" Sasuke yelled, immediately darting towards Zabuza, shuriken flying as he went. Unfortunately, they were all deflected by a swing of Cow Print's big ass sword.

The thing is though, is that Sasuke disappeared by the time his swing halted. Cow Print looked up and was greeted by the Uchiha raining down on him screaming, "Now!"

"That's naive," he replied, shortly after he grabbed Sasuke by the neck and held him above the ground.

Wait, this is my chance! I rushed towards Zabuza, ready to hit him with my Kekkei Genkai, but I wasn't fast enough. The little shit threw Sasuke over like a ragdoll, earning me an earsplitting scream from Sakura.

"Sasuke was..." I heard Naruto whimper.

I turned around to face my teammates, "Are you two really going to just stand their like a bunch of idiots while Sasuke is getting the shit beaten out of him?!" I didn't get a reply, so I just shook my head and kept on going forward, determined to take him down. If they weren't going to do anything, I guess I'll have to work extra hard. To think, I thought I was going to have a nice walk in the lovely weather with my idiotic companions, but instead, I have to deal with No Eyebrow Cow Print Man.

When I wasn't that far, I activated my Kekkei Genkai. For those of you who don't know, the Kekkei Genkai for the Nanase Clan is called the Shiki. It allows us to use all the 'elements' or natures and master them. Unfortunately, no one in the history of our clan has ever mastered all of them, only the founder. Your affinity would be the most powerful, but the thing is, the exact opposite would be the weakest link. You might also never be able to activate it. In short, I have the potential to master all five natures...if I was good enough.

My affinity is Wind, so I gathered up all the chakra I had and raised my fist up in the air, wind swirling all around me. "Shiki!" I yelled out, my speed increasing as I could feel the chakra growing in my fist.

I threw my punch, releasing all of the chakra that was bottled up in my hand, right at his gut. Cow Print though, just grabbed it and threw me over him and on to where Sasuke had landed.

I went face first into the ground, my head colliding in the dirt. That's going to leave a nasty bruise.

"Ren!" Sakura yelled.

"How pathetic," He mocked.

I slowly lifted myself up. No way am I going to let some arrogant ass throw me around like that! Before I could get back on my feet again, I felt a sharp pang in my forehead, and again in my arm. Ugh, probably from that horrible fall. It shouldn't be a big deal.

Before getting ready for another attack, I saw Zabuza step on Naruto's headband. This obviously made something in him snap or something because the second his foot connected with the piece of metal, Naruto went straight after him, screaming his head off.

"Idiot! Stop!" Kakashi screamed, tone horrified at his stupid actions.

"Naruto! What is he doing!" Sakura panicked, clutching her head in horror. Looks like someone isn't having a nice day...

Zabuza grunted, "Fool," he said.

Naruto was gracelessly knocked back, bouncing around before coming to a complete stop at my teammates feet.

"What are you doing jumping in all by yourself!" Sakura demanded, "Even Ren and Sasuke couldn't do anything! No matter how hard we try, we Genin have no chance against him!"

"That was a pretty stupid move, even for you!" I yelled from my spot on the ground, now standing, "Just let Sasuke and I handle-"

I paused when I saw what he was holding in his hand.

It was his forehead protector.

We all stared at him in shock as he pushed himself to his feet, grunting in pain.

"Hey, you eyebrow-less freak..." he growled, "Add this to your bingo book. The man who will one day become the Hokage..."

Zabuza was shaking in rage, as deserved, as he watched Naruto tie the band around his brow.

"Me! Leaf ninja, Naruto Uzumaki!"

...Not if you keep doing that. You'll probably die before becoming Hokage if you keep these beat downs up.

Zabuza looked just about ready to rip his face off to shut his hole.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called, "Listen to me a sec!"

"What is it?"

"I have a plan!"

A plan? Naruto? What has this world come to? Since when did people rely on Naruto for plans?

I saw them whisper to each other, and while Zabuza was distracted, I decided to take a risk and slip past him to get back to my team.

"Ok, sorry I'm late," I said, slightly panting.

"Ren, are you alright?" Sakura asked, "You have a really ugly bruise on your head, maybe you should-"

"I'm fine."

"But I really think that you-"

"I said I'm fine!" I winced. Ok, so maybe I'm not fine. So what? This should be over soon enough.

Sakura nodded her head, but I could see the doubt in her eyes. Girl's smarter than she looks.

As Naruto explained the plan, I grew more and more curious as to _how _he thought up of something this genius before I did. Well, it's not the best, but considering how pent up Mr. Cow Print is over there, I'm guessing he's ready to just about chop _anything _into pieces.

"Now..." Naruto said, wiping his mouth, "Let's get wild!"

Zabuza began to chuckle again.

"A lot of energy," he said, "but do you stand a chance?"

"What are you doing!" Kakashi yelled again, "Run away! This fight was over the moment I was caught! Listen, our mission is to protect Tazuna! Did you forget that?"

Naruto gave the bridge builder a pleading look, "Mister..." he begged.

Tazuna simply smiled at the ground, "Well...I planted this seed myself. I'm not going to say now that I desire you to live so much that I'd stop you," He raised his head to grin at us, "Don't worry about me. Fight as much as you want."

Sasuke smirked, "You hear that?"

"Are you ready?" Naruto grinned.

Zabuza gave a chilling laugh again, "You guys never grow up. Going to keep playing ninja, eh? When I was about your age my hands were already dyed in blood."

My brow furrowed. What the hell is he talking about? No, don't tell me...

The two boys obviously looked very uncomfortable and disgusted. Even the others. Even me.

"Devil...Zabuza," Kakashi grunted at him.

"So you've heard a little about it," he said.

Kakashi turned to us, still inside the water prison.

"Long ago," he said, "In the Hidden Mist Village, often called Blood Mist Village, there was an obstacle to becoming a ninja..."

Zabuza turned to him, an impressed look on his face, "You even know about the graduation exam..."

"Graduation exam?" Naruto asked.

Zabuza began laughing again.

My fists tightened into balls beside me, "I swear, that laughing of his has got to stop or else I'll-"

Sakura held me back, "This isn't the time, Ren!" She hissed at me.

"Hey, what's this graduation exam thing!" Naruto demanded.

Zabuza kept snickering and I kept on thinking of ways to throw him off the face of the earth.

"Fights to the death between students," he said, "Friends who have trained and eaten at the same table are pitted against each other and go at it until one of them loses their life. These are friends who had helped each other and shared dreams until then..."

"...So cruel..." Sakura whispered, face plastered with horror.

Wow, another reason why I should have just stayed a normal civilian.

Ten years ago," Kakashi said, "The Hidden Mist graduation exam was forced to change. This change came after the previous year when an evil appeared."

There was a moment of silence.

"Change?" Sakura said quietly and confused. "What change? What did this evil do?"

"Without pause or hesitation," Kakashi said slowly, "A young boy, who was not even a ninja, had killed over a hundred of that year's students."

Should I be surprised or shocked?

* * *

**WOW THIS TOOK LONGER THAN IT SHOULD HAVE OMG I STAYED UP UNTIL MIDNIGHT WRITING THIS JESUS CHRIST**

**So sorry this took fifty thousand years to post! I've been procrastinating more than usual so I REALLY needed to just sit down a get all my work done before I fail school. **

**In thanks for sticking with this, there was a nice long chapter as an 'I'm sorry I'm a bad updater' present.**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Shout outs to:**

**Littlebirdd  
Kids Love The Devil  
Valantherial  
Avatarislifehm**


	11. Chapter 10: What the Hell!

Chapter 10: What the Hell?!

* * *

I looked on at what was going on right in front of me. Zabuza, the evil little cockroach, was looking as nostalgic as ever while looking up at the sky.

"That was fun," He smiled, then rolled his eyes back down at us.

The rest of my team gasped.

The clone went for Sasuke, striking him in the gut and sending him flying before he hit the ground hard. The replica slammed his elbow into his stomach and he gagged as blood came up into his mouth.

"_Sasuke!" _Sakura screamed.

"You idiot..." I muttered. I got myself ready for another attack from my Shinki, but the pains in my arms were hard to ignore. Nonetheless, my Kekkei Genkai was activated. It wasn't for long though. My legs quickly began to buckle, forcing me to get down on one knee. "Shit. Why now?" I said. I kept on trying to muster up as much strength as I could to stand up and fight, but there wasn't any luck.

I watched as Zabuza stomped right on Sasuke's chest, continually applying more and pressure.

"Die," He said, stepping on him again.

I growled, "You're going to die at this rate," My arm suddenly felt a pang of pain, "Damn it! Naruto do it now!" I yelled at my teammate. I simply looked on, useless as piece of furniture. I swear, if I can't get up in the next five minutes, I'm pretty sure I'm going to die here.

Naruto nodded in my direction and made a seal, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A couple dozen shadow clones of himself formed around Zabuza. Every clone drew a kunai.

"Here I come!" They said in unison.

Sasuke got to his knees and looked at the Naruto clones and Zabuza./

The clones had basically began dog-piling Cow Print, but he threw them off, obviously not the happiest kid in the playground right now. He swung his sword.

"It's completely useless! He can't be beaten!" Tazuna yelled.

"Don't count us out yet, Old Man!" I snapped at him, "We have a plan."

Each of the Shadow Clones were exploding in puffs of white smoke, one of the Narutos rummaging in his bag as he slid across the ground.

"Sasuke!" He yelled, throwing a large, folding shuriken at the Uchiha.

'Everything's going according to plan,' I thought, still lying on the cold, hard ground.

Sasuke's eyes widened in understanding and he spun to his feet. He flicked the weapon and it spread out into four long blades, "Wind Shuriken, Shadow Windmill!"

Sakura smiled in admiration while I smirked. No way Zabuza will see this coming!

"A shuriken won't work against me," Zabuza said calmly.

Sasuke leaped into the air and hurled it him anyway.

Zabuza's eyes widened as the projectile whizzed clearly past him, realizing where exactly Sasuke wanted it to go. He caught it in his hand, "That's not enough!'

Then he noticed something else. A second shuriken in the first shuriken's shadow. It's the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu.

"But, still not enough," Zabuza said, jumping cleanly over the projectile.

'He dodged, it. Just as expected,' I smirked.

The shuriken that had just passed Zabuza changed into Naruto with a kunai.

Tazuna, Kakashi, Sakura and I watched as the events before us unfolded.

"There!" Naruto screamed, throwing the knife straight at the Missing-nin.

Cow Print's eyes turned into huge saucers and he knew he had no choice. He ripped his hand from the swirling sphere and jumped out of the way of the kunai's path. However, the Water clone beyond him was hit and fell to the ground in a puddle, and a small nick was visible just below his right eye, blood trickling out of it. Angry as hell, he span the shuriken he had earlier caught in his hand and roared in outrage at Naruto, "YOU DAMN KID!"

The water and some blood flew across our eyes as Kakashi (who had thankfully been released from the Water Prison since Zabuza had removed his arm) stopped the attack by halting a spinning blade of the shuriken with the back of his hand.

Naruto fell with a splash into the water behind him.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

Zabuza's eyes widened as Kakashi lifted his wet head to glare at him, the feeling of bloodlust filling the air.

Naruto pushed his head above the surface of the lake, flicked the water out of his eyes and grinned.

"Naruto, your plan was impressive," Kakashi said, still holding back the large shuriken held by Zabuza, "You all sure have grown."

Naruto snickered, "I used the Shadow Clones to hide the fact that I had transformed into a Demon Wind Shuriken. I didn't do it to defeat Zabuza. I left one of my replicas and I transformed into a Demon Wind Shuriken. Then my replica threw me, now a shuriken, to Sasuke. Sasuke noticed that it was me right after he caught it. Then he took out his own shuriken and used the Shadow Shuriken technique."

"Impressive, huh Sakura?" I told the pink haired girl as I stood up, a bit wobbly.

She simply nodded dumbly, "Yeah.." I heard her mutter.

"I hid in the shadow of the real shuriken, and went straight for Zabuza," Naruto continued, "I knew I couldn't beat Zabuza just by that of course, but I thought that if I could just break the Water Prison, things might turn around. We were also able to get rid of the Water Clone, so it was a success!"

"It was just luck," Sasuke said, signature smirk on his face.

"Like hell it was luck!" I told my teammate, "It was a good plan, you have to admit."

Zabuza scoffed, interrupting our team's exchanges, "I lost myself temporarily and canceled the Water Prison technique," He said.

"No, you didn't cancel the technique," Kakashi said plainly, "You were forced to let it go."

"Talk a lot of shit for someone who just got beat by a bunch of Genin," My mouth twitched into a smug smirk.

"Let me just say that the same technique won't work against me twice," Kakashi said, "What are you going to do now?"

Zabuza's veins were clearly bulging on his temple and his bandages were hiding the large scowl he was forming.

"Sakura, don't let your guard down," Sasuke warned, "You should get yourself together, Slacker."

I rolled my eyes, "Hn, cocky little prick." Well, it looks like I should start getting used to the nickname.

We all stood there, eyes locked onto Zabuza.

His eye twitched.

Kakashi grunted as Zabuza folded the weapon back into one blade and began pushing onto his hand with the shuriken, steadily gaining more control over him, then swung his arm, knocking the weapon flying far off into the air. They both jumped back to create space to fight.

Zabuza made a hand seal and Kakashi's Sharingan eye widened. Zabuza began making a long string if hand signs, so long that I could barely remember them all, but Kakashi stood across from him and copied them _flawlessly _while they were being made, movements perfectly in sync.

"Bird!" They both said at the same time with the final seal.

Two bulges appeared in the water, one in front of each of them and formed into two dragon shapes.

"Water Dragon Jutsu!"

The dragons rose high up out of the water, twisting around each other and winding as they went up, then crashed head first into each other, soaking them below.

Naruto screamed as he was swept up in the waves that the dragons created, and the other Genin and Tazuna tried to guard themselves against the water rushing into them. Up above, the two dragons continued to clash against each other.

We all stared in disbelief, _'I have to _seriously _learn that.'_

Naruto's head and shoulders broke the surface of the water, gasping for air.

Kakashi and Zabuza were holding their weapons against each other, our sensei with a kunai and the Missing-nin using his sword as water from their techniques streamed around them.

They once again jumped back from each other to widen the distance between them, then began to run, circling each other. Zabuza stopped and at the same time, Kakashi did. Zabuza made a one-handed seal and his eyes widened when Kakashi did the same.

"He's moving just like him!" Tazuna yelled, "And with such perfect timing!"

"What's going on, Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

He was silent and continued studying the two men.

"Ren? Do you know anything?" She asked again, desperate for answers.

"Um, not really an expert on the Sharingan. Sorry," I said as I refused to make eye contact with her. It's not really my place to tell her, is it?

Kakashi and Zabuza were now staring each other down.

Zabuza was glaring. He lowered his arm and the action was reflected back at him like a mirror.

"Predicted by him," Kakashi said out of nowhere. Okay, very random, but still made Zabuza look like he just saw a ghost. He glared again only this time at the scarlet eye Kakashi had as he changed the position of his hands again.

"Has such unpleasant eyes, right?" Kakashi droned. Once again, very random.

Zabuza looked very miffed by this, "What you're doing is just copying, nothing originial!"

"You can't beat me, you monkey!" They said in unison.

Zabuza's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head, "I'll make it so that you never open that copycat mouth of yours again!"

"Great Waterfall Jutsu!" Kakashi said.

"W-What!" Zabuza yelled.

A large swirling water ball formed in front of Kakashi and shot towards Zabuza, consuming him in a spinning mass of confusion.

Zabuza tried swimming out of it, only to be thrown against the trees and rocks by the water, us getting horribly wet. I sure hope I don't get sick...

I tried to get out of the way of the water, but I felt myself swaying bit, but I wasn't having it as bad as Naruto was. He was unfortunately being tossed about in the heavy currents of the water, but sighed slightly when he grabbed a hold of a tree branch.

Zabuza groaned in pain, waves still pounding against his body as his body was thrust into a tree. Several kunai flew at him, sticking in his arms and thighs, and he roared in agony.

"It's over," Kakashi said from the tree above him.

"Why...?" Zabuza asked, perplexed, "Can you see the future?"

"Yeah," He replied in a low voice as he raised a kunai, "You're going to die."

Then, out of practically nowhere, two thin needles shot through the air and straight through Zabuza's neck. His eyes rolled back in his head as he wobbled in his feet.

Now, I'm pretty sure there's only one thought that's going through our heads...

What the hell?!

* * *

**I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG OOPS**

**But yeah feel free to send hate messages bc I'm super slow at updating nowadays. Anyways, finals are coming up (ew) and I unfortunately need to study bc I haven't been getting any smarter and I don't want to go to summer school...**

**Also...**

**I have recently gotten a review saying that Ren is a very flat character, not having anything but a smart mouth to back up on. Now, thank you for pointing that out. Really, I totally appreciate reviews like that because it provides a lot of insight on what you guys are thinking. If you have anything to say about Ren or how I write or whatever about the story please feel free to leave a review or message me about it. That review has really just given me the chance to rework my character outlines and just basically improve her character development plans. So, whoever it was, thank you :)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Shout outs to:**

**Blackenflames  
Jofy14  
Beatrix Heart  
SweetDreams21  
Daenerys Dunham**


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